Plastic Free July 2025

Plastic Free July is a global initiative encouraging us to think about the everyday plastics we use and how we can reduce them. At The Sports Room, our aim is to be as sustainable as we can when it comes to managing plastic. We choose to sell quality products from suppliers that care about the planet we live in. This could mean zero soft plastic in their shipping or packaging, like Muc-Off. Or brands like SAYSKY that carry a Global Recycled Standard Certificate. Orca have now introduced a recycling programme for end of life wetsuits. 

Reducing plastic waste at The Sports Room

Here's some of the things we do to reduce our plastic use. We:

• Use reusable cups for our daily coffee break at The Firehouse 
  
• Use plastic free tea-bags for the 4pm recharge!
• Use the correct bins for recycling, compost and general waste
• Recycle all workshop tubes and tyres in the bike workshop with RecycleBikes.ie
• Have removed plastic swim hangers and replaced them with recyclable steel
• Buy from quality brands who take sustainability seriously, for example all the NNormal packaging leaves no waste as it is biodegrable and compostable
• Reuse supplier cardboard packaging for our own online orders
  
• Don't use any plastic for our online orders - all brown paper wrapping and twine is recyclable or compostable
• Provide paper bags for purchases that are reusable, recyclable or compostable
• Organise litter pick ups in conjunction with Trash Free Trails to keep our run and bike trails clean
• Process your old Orca wetsuit and return it for recycling
  

Tips to reduce your plastic waste in sport

• Bring your resuable bottles to races - try the Salomon soft flask: they fit in your run belt and fold down small as you drink your water. A bladder pack is good too for longer runs.
• Swap out traditional silicone earplugs for SurfEars. They are made from recycled ocean plastic. They tie around your neck so you are less likely to lose them. You'll also be more inclined to look after them and put them back in their pouch as they are a little bit more expensive!
• Ditch the car for an e-bike
  
• Read the labels! Buy brands that care about their plastic use - all the brands we stock have made huge efforts on climate action policies
• Look for brands like SAYSKY who have achieved a Global Recycled Standard Certificate
  
• Recycle your empty nutrition packaging
• Tie your old running shoes together and bring them to the the charity recycling bins
• Bring back your old Orca wetsuit for recycling (these wetsuits are made using a limestone neoprene rather than petroleum, so that's good news too)
• Choose planet friendly summer footwear like RipCurl's Bloom collection - Algae Blended EVA made with a Minimum 45% Bio Content
  
• Bring your own bag when shopping at The Sports Room, or reuse or recycle the bags we have in-store
• Help us out with our next litter pick up - follow us on Instagram for more info

The simplest way to reduce plastic waste is to avoid unnecessary and single-use plastics, support businesses (like us!) who are reducing plastic waste and re-use existing plastic when you can. #plasticfreejuly #reduceplasticwaste