Hitchin Swimming Centre and the North Herts Leisure Centre remove blue plastic overshoes to go green

PR Date: Monday, 24 February 2020 - 11:15am

As part of ongoing efforts to reduce single use plastics in North Herts, Hitchin Swimming Centre and the North Herts Leisure Centre in Letchworth are ditching blue plastic overshoes at their swimming pools and asking customers to either go barefoot or wear indoor flip flops.

The initiative will save almost 780KG of plastic waste in North Hertfordshire each year. Alongside this, in a bid to reduce the use of single use plastic cups and bottles, drinking water fountains have also been installed at the centres.

The facilities are managed by Stevenage Leisure Limited (SLL), on behalf of North Hertfordshire District Council (NHDC). This initiative follows in the steps of the Royston Leisure Centre which removed blue overshoes in December last year.

To launch the initiative, on Sunday 01 March customers who visit the Hitchin Swimming Centre or the North Herts Leisure Centre can swim for free if they bring their own flip flops to wear. On an ongoing basis customers are being asked to either go barefoot or bring a suitable pair of indoor shoes with them.

Cllr Steve Jarvis, NHDC’s Executive Member for Environment and Leisure said: “We are delighted that the Hitchin Swimming Centre and the North Herts Leisure Centre are taking this important visible step in helping make North Herts plastic free. The initiative has been well received in Royston and we hope it will be equally successful in Hitchin and Letchworth. Don’t forget your flip-flops next time you visit.’

David Brame, SLL’s Chief Executive said: “SLL is proud to be working in partnership with NHDC on these excellent initiatives as part of our joint responsibilities to reduce our environmental impact within the local community.”