Greener Tennis
We are acting to improve the club’s performance on energy, water, waste and other environmental issues. Members are used to recycling at home, trying to use less water, saving energy and maybe switching to lower carbon suppliers. Now we’re doing that as a club. An Environment Group has been at work since November 2023 figuring out how we can up our game. The first step was to understand how much energy and water we use, the carbon dioxide emissions we’re responsible for, the waste we create and what happens to it. We are also thinking about our direct impact on the Shepherd’s Cot environment and the wildlife around the club. These are the main environmental issues we need to act on.
Action so far:
– Thermostats installed in the clubhouse so we can cut energy waste
– More sustainable tennis balls sampled
– Video produced on recycling at the club – watch here
Energy and Carbon
The club used electricity and gas in 2023 creating almost 21 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. We are responsible for about the same CO 2 emissions as two typical UK households of 2-3 people. Reducing these emissions is the most significant thing we can do to improve our environmental performance – but also the most challenging. Installing solar panels on the clubhouse roof could halve our CO 2 emissions from electricity use. It will be expensive, so this is a medium term action. In the meantime, we will reduce the gas we use to heat the clubhouse by using gas more efficiently. The club has already switched to LED lights on the main courts. We are investigating other electricity use.
Water
Watering the cricket field is the biggest use of water. Ideally, we would store rainwater but there isn’t space for storage and a pumping system. We are in touch with Thames Water, which has a conservation team that might be able to help and will co-operate with the other cricket clubs on the Cot. Brookside also currently uses water (when it’s not raining) but the new surface will substantially reduce how much we need.
Waste
The waste we generate is pretty similar to what we have at home – glass and plastic bottles, tins, crisp and other packets, paper and food waste from the kitchen. The club doesn’t have the council recycling service that we get at home, so we pay for the waste service. Surprisingly, our current contractor doesn’t include glass in its mixed recycling collection and food waste is not collected separately.
The first step, of course, is for us to put the right items in the right bins in and around the clubhouse and we have produced a short video to explain what goes where. Grass cuttings from the cricket field are a different type of waste. They are currently kept on the site, but it may be possible to use them more productively as compost.
Balls
‘Recycling’ balls – which is actually reuse – is a good start but there is a limit to what can be done with the rubber and wool they are made of. There are organisations in some countries that separate the materials and reuse the rubber in surfacing areas such as tennis courts, but nobody is doing that yet in the UK. Making the balls last longer does help and Wilson have developed a Triniti product that lasts up to four times as long as the usual balls. It is also unpressurised so comes in cardboard tubes which are easier to recycle (if members put them in the right bins!). We encourage members to try these balls which may be available behind the bar.
The Team
After initial work by Izzy Mallinder, the club created the Environment Group with these volunteers:
- Roger Barrowcliffe (lead)
- Roger Cowe
- Julia Lampard
- Steve Scott-Robson
- Johan de Silva (connecting with cricket and the bar/kitchen)
- Richard Tusting (connecting with Shepherd’s Cot)