On the first day of The Championships, evian has teamed up with Wimbledon to announce that, for the first time, spectators can stay hydrated with evian natural mineral water through a refill system – a move aiming to encourage refill and reuse behaviour throughout the day.
The collaboration follows the refill system introduced for players last year as part of evian and Wimbledon’s joint work to reduce plastic packaging waste during The Championships.
This year, evian refill stations can be found in six locations across the Grounds; three in food court areas and three in mobile carts, as well as additional stations in the Queue. Spectators can purchase a QR code for £5, which will enable them to refill with evian natural mineral water throughout the day.The code can be used to refill any refillable container. Spectators can also purchase a limited-edition evian refillable bottle to mark the occasion, with refills for £25.
The evian player refill system will continue for a second year with players provided with their own reusable bottles that can be refilled with evian natural mineral water on-court and at designated player areas, including practice courts, dressing rooms and restaurants.
Building on the experience and insights from last year, evian has increased the reach to include more of the players’ teams and optimized the system to increase the ease of bottle return and reuse.
The All England Lawn Tennis Club commented that systems such as this are key to helping achieve its goal of becoming Environment Positive by 2030. Danone UK & Ireland, makers of evian and a member of the UK Plastics Pact, has chosen Wimbledon to implement a reuse and refill model to highlight how refill can become an active part of people’s everyday habits.
International climate action NGO WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme), which manages the UK Plastics Pact, welcomed the move.
Harriet Lamb, chief executive officer at WRAP, stated: “It’s a championship challenge for the industry – we’ve all got used to convenience, but we need to protect the environment. Bottled water is a staple buy for many people, but we all know plastic waste and litter from food and drink packaging is too high and this needs to be tackled.
“Expanding the refill system for natural source mineral water at Wimbledon is exciting and shows how we can move to alternative systems that go a long way to reduce plastic waste, particularly in such a controlled space. This is exactly the kind of innovation we need to happen more widely. I look forward to seeing the results of this pilot to add to our understanding of how the public will use refill, and what more could be done in the future.”
The Championships will be staged from Monday 1st to Sunday 14th July.
Last year Barclays and CLUBZERØ partnered to serve customers free juice in reusable cups as they wait to enter the Wimbledon Grounds, with the solution anticipated to halve CO2 emissions and result in zero waste. CLUBZERØ were set to serve the drinks in an exclusive line of cold beverage cups, expected to be returned, washed, and redistributed throughout the tournament.
In similar news, Berry Global, InfinyCup, and Stratus collaborated in 2023 to serve beverages in the reusable plastic SuperCup at the Rugby World Cup, aligning with France’s ban on single-use plastic cups. Made from recyclable polypropylene, the cups are apparently dishwasher safe and 30% lighter than standard reusable plastic beer cups on the market.
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