SUMMARY
- The 2024 Australian Open has taken various measures to prevent the destruction of the environment.
- The officials at the Australian Open have been partnering up with companies to tackle the usage of plastic.
It has been three days since the start of this year’s Australian Open. Players and fans are busy with the new schedules of the event, which will go on for two more weeks. Thousands of fans from around the world visit Melbourne for the first grand slam of the year. With the arrival of huge numbers, there are environmental concerns.
Before the tournament kicked off, the organizers came up with a set of rules. At the 2023 Australian Open, there were over 839,000 visitors. Keeping the numbers in mind, the officials partnered up with Samsara, an Australian enviro-tech startup, in 2022.
Samsara will be collecting single-use plastic bottles and preventing them from going to landfills. The bottles will be sent to their recycling lab in Canberra, where they will be processed and reused many times, helping the environment.
Tennis Australia is teaming up again with Aussie enviro-start up @samsara_eco and their legendary enzyme to take on the challenge of single use plastic at the AO.
Get involved with SAM.FOR.CHANGE on Instagram.#SAMforchange • #samsaraeco • #infiniterecycling pic.twitter.com/pa4x4CdHlc
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 23, 2023
The Australian Open officials have also partnered up with Quayclean, a national cleaning services and waste management company. Quayclean will bring in 1200 workers dedicated to waste management and sustainability systems by diverting the majority of waste away from landfills. However, these initiatives have not been impressing the players at the event.
Victoria Azarenka raises environmental concerns at Melbourne
There have been multiple measures set up at the 2024 Australian Open to tackle environmental damage. However, players seem to think that the initiatives are not being implemented. Victoria Azarenka has questioned the use of plastic all over the stadiums. She had noticed chocolate wrappers being used at the event. Azarenka spoke at the press conference about her opening match.
The Belarusian is a prominent member of the WTA player council. Azarenka felt that the event officials were not following the environmental pledges. She said, “I want to make sure that we do something that is important. But like this, it looks like – what’s that sentence – smoke and mirrors.” The two-time Australian Open winner pointed out that plastic was being sold outside the courts.
Australian skin protection company Bondi Sands has been handing out more than 600,000 free samples of 10 ml SPF 50 sunscreen tubes. This initiative will make the work of Samsara and Quayclean difficult. As Azarenka mentioned, recyclable bottles have been avoided, but the use of plastic is continuing in different forms. Sustainability is in question at this year’s Australian Open.