Sky Ocean Rescue Teams Up with The Kia Oval to Help Inspire a Plastic Free Future

Less than 50% of plastic bottles in the UK are recycled and in the time it takes to bowl one over, the equivalent of four rubbish truck's worth of plastic will be dumped in the ocean

20,000 limited edition refillable water bottles will be handed out to fans during the 100th Test, with 20 free water points installed around the grounds

Sky Ocean Rescue is teaming up with the Kia Oval to help the world-famous cricket ground reduce the amount of single-use plastic used during its 100th historic Test.

With the equivalent of four rubbish truck's worth of plastic dumped in the ocean in the time it takes England or South Africa to bowl one over, Sky Ocean Rescue and the Kia Oval are working together to raise the issue of ocean health with cricket fans and ask them to make a few simple changes to help save our oceans.

During the Test there will be 20,000 limited edition refillable water bottles given out and fans will be encouraged to use the 20 free water points installed throughout the venue, in a move to significantly contribute to reducing the amount of single-use plastic consumed across the five days.

On-air, the newly-launched Sky Sports Cricket channel will dedicate parts of its Test coverage to highlighting the impact plastic is having on our oceans by showing Sky News reports that tackle the issue, and challenging viewers at home to reduce their use of single-use plastics. Behind the scenes, the Sky Sports Cricket outside broadcasting team will also be plastic bottle free.

Marking the historic 100th Test and leading the Kia Oval's plans to becoming a plastic free venue, Kia Oval CEO, Richard Gould, said: We're very proud to announce the work we are doing with Sky Ocean Rescue, as part of our aim to make the Kia Oval a plastic free sporting venue. During the course of the 100th Test, we're challenging our ticket holders to make simple behavioural changes that will have a dramatic impact on ocean health. We hope by raising the issues with cricket fans we can work together to reduce the use of single-use plastics within our grounds.

Jeremy Darroch, Sky CEO, added: The dire health of our oceans is such an important issue, and one that needs to be urgently addressed. At Sky, we want to use our voice and the potential of our reach to inspire people to take action to protect our planet by bringing to life our amazing ocean for millions of people across Europe, and discussing the solutions. We're delighted to be working with the Kia Oval on an issue which sits at the heart of our Sky Ocean Rescue campaign and support them on their journey to becoming a plastic free venue. This is also a great opportunity to drive home the issues with sports fans and underline the actions that can easily be undertaken to reduce our impact on the ocean.

Information to raise awareness of the issues of ocean plastic will be posted throughout the cricket venue, and the Sky Ocean Rescue mobile studio based at the ground will allow fans to commit their own recorded pledge to becoming an #OceanHero this summer.

There is an estimated 5 trillion pieces of plastic in the world's oceans, with 8 million tons more ending up in the ocean every year, it never decomposes and will remain there forever. By 2050 all the plastic in the Ocean could weigh more than all the fish. By working with the Kia Oval, Sky Ocean Rescue is able to raise the issues that matter and explore the different ways sports fans can help make a difference.

Find out more about the issues affecting our oceans by visiting skyoceanrescue.com. To join the conversation and become an #OceanHero go to the Sky Ocean Rescue Facebook page, or @SkyOceanRescue.

For more information, please contact:

Jo Torn: Jo.Torn@onegreenbean.com

Francoise Cairns: francoise.cairns@sky.com

Jon Surtees: jsurtees@surreycricket.com

Notes to Editors

About Sky Ocean Rescue

We want to use our voice as Europe's leading Entertainment Company and the potential of our reach to inspire people to take action to protect our planet by bringing to life our amazing ocean for millions of people across Europe and discussing the solutions. Through our news channels, Sky News in the UK and TG24 in Italy, we are raising awareness of how plastics and other pollution are affecting our oceans. Through the Sky Ocean Rescue campaign were exploring the different ways people can help to make a difference and inspiring them to take action.

About the Kia Oval

The Kia Oval is one of the world's finest cricket stadiums. The home of Surrey County Cricket Club since 1845, the ground has hosted many of the most iconic moments in cricketing history.

When England play South Africa at the ground from July 27th to July 31st 2017, the ground will become just the fourth in the world to achieve the honour of hosting 100 Test Matches.

With nearly 500,000 people due to watch cricket at the Kia Oval this year, a major redevelopment, increasing the capacity to 40,000 seats by 2023, was recently announced.

Away from cricket, the ground also hosted the first ever FA Cup Final in 1872, the England football team's first ever goal and the England rugby team's first ever try in 1873 and, over the subsequent 140 years, events in sports including football, rugby, athletics, tennis, endurance walking, Australian Rules Football and NFL, as well as gigs by bands including The Who, The Faces, Genesis and Frank Zappa.

Plastic facts:

13 billion single-use plastic bottles are sold in Britain each year (an average of 200 per person) - less than half of these are recycled

Most types of plastic are not biodegradable. They can stay in the ocean for centuries. (source: UNEP)

Microplastics have been found inside a third of fish in the English Channel (source: Plymouth University)

We use over 35 MILLION plastic bottles every day in the UK (Source WRAP)

40% of all plast

LINK:	https://corporate.sky.com/media-centre/news-page/2017/sky-ocean-rescue...
	See more stories from sky

Most recent headlines