In 2019 the Wales Airshow attracted over 200,000 visitors to watch the wonderful air displays over the stunning sweep of Swansea Bay.
We know that all of our visitors to the Wales Airshow enjoy the incredible location as much as we do, and we are just as passionate and dedicated in ensuring that the environmental impact of the event is kept to a minimum.
We consult annually with a variety of groups to plan the Airshow, including our internal recycling team, external agencies such as RECOUP, and many others to take into consideration as many factors as possible, so that we can help deliver an enjoyable yet sustainable event.
Read on to find out what plans and initiatives are in place to help keep the Airshow as green and sustainable as possible;
Recycling at the Airshow
- The majority of rubbish collected is hand sorted at our bailing plant to ensure the maximum amount of waste is recycled.
- As part of the tender process, all catering stands are asked to use only environmentally friendly packaging.
- Traders are given recycling bags and advice on how to sort out the waste. The litter crews also patrol the stands continuously throughout the day and collect recycling bags, taking them back to recycling points.
- There will be two main recycling points at the air show marked by giant recycling flags and signage (You can find the recycling points by looking at the site map or by visit the information points on site).
- Volunteer’s will be on hand to help you place the rubbish in the correct bins.
- Litter pickers will patrol the prom area throughout the entirety of the event and the rubbish collected will be sorted for recycling.
- The Wave and Swansea Sound radio station’s will do live links from the Airshow, and these links will be used to promote recycling, car sharing and Park and Ride, as will the commentary on-site.
RECOUP – Flying the Recycling Flag
At the Wales Airshow RECOUP, with the help of volunteers, will be collecting post-consumer plastic drinks bottles for recycling. Please look out for the dedicated recycling points. You can also recycle at RECOUP’s Pledge2Recycle Plastics education stand. There will be plastics recycling experts on hand at that stand to answer all your plastics recycling questions.
RECOUP will be sending all plastic drinks bottles collected from the Airshow to become new drinks bottles. The new bottles will be back on the shelves within 5-6 weeks from being collected at the show.
Over 200,000 visitors are expected at the event so this is a great opportunity to showcase that on-the-go plastic packaging can be collected, recycled and given another life.
If you’d like to be a part of this, you can volunteer with RECOUP. As a volunteer you will assist with litter picking and collecting specific items for collecting from the natural environment. If you’re interested, you can register here.
RECycling Of Used Plastics Limited (RECOUP) is a registered charity and not-for-profit member based organisation. RECOUP works in collaboration with all stakeholders to promote, develop, stimulate and increase the levels of plastics recycling within the UK. You can find out more about the great work they do here.
Refill & water stations
We’re committed to reducing plastic waste as much as possible, and will have 3 water stations at the event for you to fill up your bottles with free water. They are situated near;
- Civic Centre (grassed area)
- Near the Cenotaph
- Beach entrance opposite bottom of Brynmill Lane
These water stations will be clearly signposted.
You can also find the locations of our water stations (and others in the local area) by downloading the free Refill app.
Refill is an award-winning campaign designed to help you reduce your plastic pollution, by making it easy to refill your reusable water bottle instead of buying a plastic one. Find out more about their great initiative here.
Fairtrade and local produce
The tendering process for caterers scores in favour of traders who use Fairtrade products and locally grown / Welsh produce where possible.
Traffic and parking
The event traffic management plan and pre-event communications encourages the use of the two dedicated event Park and Ride sites, car sharing if travelling by car, and alternative forms of transport where possible.
Tree planting
The council is undertaking the planting of additional trees and shrubs throughout the city.
Military aircraft carbon footprint
The military aircraft which take part in the display do so as part of their normal training regime, as pilots have to complete a certain number of flying hours each year – thus keeping the number of extra flight miles down, along with the amount of fuel used, and thus keeping as small a carbon footprint as possible.
Equipment hire
All contractors are asked to support the sustainable objectives of our event, which are:
- To provide tangible value to the local and wider community from the events
- To maximise energy efficiency in the delivery of the events
- To maximise the proportion of energy from renewable sources in the delivery of the events
- To maximise waste reduction, recycling, reuse and recovery from the events
- To use and promote sustainable modes of transport where possible at events
This post is also available in: Welsh
