Brighton & Hove Albion have joined forces with environmental charity Hubbub and Brighton & Hove City Council, to raise awareness of the vast amounts of litter left in and around the stadium on matchdays.
As part of this drive, an art sculpture made entirely of rubbish from the recent match against Tottenham Hotspur will be unveiled at the Amex on Friday.
Albion fans will also have a chance to take part in a number of rubbish-related activities ahead of Saturday’s game against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
This will include a group of special litter referees that will mingle within the crowds issuing ‘cards’ for good litter and recycling behaviour, which can be exchanged for a number of Albion-related prizes, such as player cards, wristbands, car stickers, key rings and pin badges at a special Trashconverter.
Albion facilities manager David Baker said, “Our supporters have always shown a commitment to keeping our stadia and surrounding area clean and tidy going back to our days at Withdean, when a team of supporters used to complete litter clearances in the local area following each match.
“Since moving to the American Express Community Stadium we have seen a continual increase in the amount of recycling we produce thanks to supporters making use of the facilities available.
“We are delighted to be working with Hubbub and Brighton and Hove City Council as part of the Streets Ahead campaign to raise further awareness of this, and encourage even greater use of these facilities both at our venues and elsewhere.
“The campaign also links closely to the work we are doing with the Premier League and Sky in support of their Ocean Rescue project.”
Alex Robinson, Hubbub Enterprise’s Managing Director, added, “A huge amount of litter is entering the sea and plastic pollution has become one of our most pressing environmental and health concerns.
“Sports stadiums present a great opportunity to engage people in innovative ways and help to stem the tide of litter.”
Councillor Gill Mitchell, chair of the council’s environment, transport and sustainability committee, said, “Fans get so caught up in the game and the atmosphere they can forget to bin their litter properly, especially when there are thousands of other supporters milling around.
“This sculpture will bring litter to the attention of the fans and be a football-related reminder of how much rubbish is tossed onto the ground before, during and after a game rather than binned properly.”
The sculpture and matchday activities are part of the #StreetsAhead campaign that was launched in August 2017 by the council and Hubbub, which aims to create litter free streets and prevent rubbish ending up in the sea.