Jul 20th, 2018
Wimbledon plastic bottles: hand-in
By Becca McCarthy
Read on for an update on the 38 Degrees petition calling on the Wimbledon tennis championships to ditch plastic bottles [1]…
When the tournament hit the headlines after tennis players started asking questions about the huge number of plastic bottles used at Wimbledon, [2] more than 100,000 of us came together and called on Wimbledon to scrap plastic bottles for good. [3]
So last week, some of the 38 Degrees staff team carried a giant water bottle – with the message “100,000 people say ditch plastic bottles at Wimbledon” plastered across – right to the doors of the championships, so the bosses in charge of Wimbledon couldn’t miss it.
Here’s a short video of the story so far, click to watch.
The ball is now firmly in Wimbledon’s court. They’ve heard our message loud and clear and when they’re planning the next championships they’ll know the public expects them to take action on plastic pollution.
This isn’t the first time we’ve come together to demand action on environmentally harmful plastic. Whether that’s forcing major retailers to ditch the plastic cotton buds clogging up our oceans [4] or persuading PG Tips to remove plastic from their tea bags. [5] We won those campaigns – and we’ll be watching Wimbledon’s next steps so we can hold them to account too.
Notes:
[1] 38 Degrees petition: Ditch plastic bottles at Wimbledon:
https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/wimbledon-ditch-plastic-bottles
[2] The Times (paywall): Ball’s in your court over plastic waste, players tell Wimbledon:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ball-s-in-your-court-over-plastic-waste-players-tell-wimbledon-pwrktb9qz
Sky News: Wimbledon under pressure to ban plastic bottles over littered courts:
https://news.sky.com/story/wimbledon-under-pressure-to-ban-plastic-bottles-over-littered-courts-11426238
[3] See Note 1
[4] 38 Degrees: Cotton Bud success:
https://home.38degrees.org.uk/2017/01/10/cotton-bud-success/
[5] The Telegraph: PG tips switches to plastic-free tea bags after 200,000 sign gardener’s petition:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/02/28/pg-tips-switches-plastic-free-tea-bags-200000-sign-gardeners/
