#PlayACleanGame

It’s time to clean up our game.

From our local parks and pitches to the world stage, athletes, teams, clubs and fans are being asked to join forces to turn the tide on plastic.

We are working with local councils, sports teams and community groups in partnership with Keep Scotland Beautiful to:

• Switch to reusable bottles and fill up from the tap;
• Leave no trace on pitches and recycle as much as possible;
• Educate clubs, community groups and sports governing bodies on their environmental impact and inspire them to adopt more environmentally friendly practices e.g. waste, transport, energy and events.

Why are we doing this?

• Over one million plastic bottles are sold every minute worldwide; 40% are used just once and then tossed. On average, we each use 150 bottles each year.
• Plastic can take hundreds of years to break down – if at all – and kills animals, birds and sea life.
• By 2050, there could be more plastic than fish in the ocean. Our litter makes its way into gutters and streams that empty into rivers and the sea. 80% of marine litter comes from the land.
• There are more microplastic particles in the oceans than stars in the galaxy. The effects of microplastics in our food chain and on our health are still being studied. 
• Using a refillable bottle could save you over £100 each year (2 bottles per week while playing sports). We have great drinking water in Scotland so look after our planet and your pocket!

We need your support

• Reduce - Reuse - Recycle
• Ditch the single-use plastic - switch to reusable bottles.
• Clean up after your games. Use bins and recycling points or take your litter home. You may want to appoint a Green Champion to ensure the pitch is clean after every event.
• Join us on one of the regular litter picks and beach cleans – for event details, follow Green Tangerine on socials or visit or litter picking page

SCOTTISH PILOT STUDY

Our football club pilot – What was the outcome?

From January to June 2024:

• 3 clubs with 2250 players saved 30,375 plastic bottles from landfill.
• Use of reusable water bottles across the clubs increased from 54% to 72%.
• Single use plastic bottles reduced from 32% to 18%.
• The clubs saved money on water for training and games, on disposal of bottles and saved time cleaning pitches. They also improved their environmental image.

What is provided to the clubs?

• Reusable water bottles with club logos for all players.
• Promotional material and banners to encourage behavioural change.
• Measurement surveys to assess the impact.
• Education and learning materials for coaches and players.

Great work teams!

Big thanks to Pollok United, Thorn Athletic and Giffnock Soccer Centre for their time and energy in the pilot as well as to our partner Keep Scotland Beautiful who provided the learning and education materials and the Scottish Football Association for their support. We also want to thank the National Lottery Community Fund for funding this pilot.

Next Phase

We will be starting the next phase of the project in March 2025, subject to funding. We would love to hear from football clubs who want to get involved. To register your interest please click here - greentangerine.or.uk/bottle/take-part.

Everyone Can Make a Difference

• Reduce - Reuse - Recycle
• Ditch the single-use plastic - switch to reusable bottles.
• Clean up after your games. Use bins and recycling points or take your litter home.
• Join us on one of our regular litter picks and beach cleans. For event details, follow Green Tangerine on socials or visit our litter picking page You may also want to visit Keep Scotland Beautiful to see their events - keepscotlandbeautiful.org
  

INVERCLYDE

Apply for your free reusable bottles
Amazon and Inverclyde Community Fund are kindly sponsoring the #PlayACleanGame Campaign in Inverclyde. Contact us for your team to get free bottles - after you get them, take photos showing how you are cleaning up your game and stopping litter reaching the Clyde - post them on Green Tangerine’s socials using #PlayACleanGame.