Royston Leisure Centre ditches the blue and goes green

PR Date: Friday, 13 December 2019 - 11:45am

As part of ongoing efforts to reduce single use plastics in North Herts, Royston Leisure Centre is ditching blue plastic overshoes at its swimming pool 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, a drinking water fountain has also been installed at the Leisure Centre.

Royton Leisure Centre, managed by Stevenage Leisure Limited (SLL), on behalf of North Hertfordshire District Council (NHDC), is the first of the leisure centres in North Herts to ditch the blue shoes, with Hitchin Swimming Centre and North Herts Leisure Centre in Letchworth planning to follow suit early next year.

To help promote the initiative, on Sunday 15 December customers 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 Leisure and Environment said: "We are delighted that Royston Leisure Centre is taking this important visible step in helping make North Herts plastic free. Don’t forget your flip-flops next time you visit."

Ian Morton, SLL’s Managing Director 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.’

Notes to Editors

NHDC Council Motion passed on 18 July 2018: (Meeting minutes: https://democracy.north-herts.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=136&MId=2… )

Single Use Plastics

That the Chief Executive be instructed to produce an action plan to:

a) Minimise the Council's use of plastics and to eliminate the use of single use plastics and replace with sustainable alternatives by 2022.

b) Request all of the council's suppliers and contractors to remove single use plastics from their products and packaging as soon as possible.

c) Work with local businesses and retailers to

1. eliminate the use of single use plastic within the local authority area

2. reduce the use of plastic in packaging and work towards the removal of plastic from packaging

3. encourage them to require their suppliers to remove plastic from their products and from packaging.

The Council will also work with other public bodies and large employers to inform people of the environmental damage caused by plastics and promoting the reasons for using the alternatives.