This summer, we are lucky enough not to have to go without football with the Euro Championships being held in Poland and the Ukraine. Fans also have an eagerly anticipated derby coming up and so, even if the weather is awful there is something to look forward to.
Amidst all of this, last week was Recycle Week 2012. So how does football tie in to Recycle Week? Well, Zero Waste Scotland have a new volunteer programme in Dundee and Angus which looks to promote reducing waste and encouraging individuals to recycle more. Anyone who has played football at any level will know that feeling of desperate thirst after a game and so the link between football and Recycle Week was borne, particularly the theme of recycling at “Home or Away” with the target being plastic bottles.
An event held at Soccerworld in Dundee, to raise awareness of this issue, was a partnership between Zero Waste Scotland’s Dundee and Angus Volunteer Programme, Street Soccer, Dundee FC and Dundee United FC. The concept was to demonstrate that we can all do a little more to recycle and have fun whilst reducing our waste. For every plastic bottle handed in for recycling, players were given a free glass of cold juice. This showed that we can think about reducing waste by reusing bottles from home and as a last resort, recycling our used bottles bought when away from home.
As a club, Dundee have a tremendous support, this has been shown in recent years - and with this comes a lot of waste produced on match days. Bottles, cups and food containers are all left at the ground after games and many people never consider what is done with these materials. We can be proud to say that, as a club, we separate these materials and make them available for recycling. Under new legislation, businesses will have to do this in coming years but we are ahead of the game and we would encourage fans to do the same.
In this spirit, Dundee FC were present at the five-a-side tournament, promoting not only Recycle Week but the Street Soccer enterprise, run in the city by Dave MacKenzie, which provides organised football for those from socially excluded or vulnerable groups. Club and Society Director Eddie Devlin, accompanied by living legend Pat Liney, were there to support and give some pointers to players - but don’t expect any signings, the fives weren’t played like they used to be in the good old days, as both Pat and Eddie pointed out!