Rugby’s entire history, from its origins on a school playing field in 1823, right through to another action-packed final weekend of the WXV, spans just over 200 years.
And while that might seem like a long time, it is a mere fraction of the lifespan of a single-use plastic bottle. In fact, according to some researchers, plastic bottles can take up a thousand years to decompose.
Waste reduction, along with climate action and the protection/promotion of nature, are the key themes of World Rugby’s Environmental Sustainability Plan 2030 and the governing body has been working closely with all those connected to the game to avoid or reduce any negative impacts from rugby activity as part of a team effort to safeguard not just the sport, but the communities, ecosystems and planet that sustains us all.
As part of this collaboration, fans, teams, unions and tournament organisers all played their part at the World Rugby U20 Championship earlier this year.
Tournament host South Africa Rugby, reflecting World Rugby’s ambition to make the game more sustainable, introduced the future stars of rugby to an award-winning initiative which helps tackle the vast amount of plastic generated around match days while helping build homes for some of the most vulnerable people in society.
Dubbed the ‘Bag that Builds’, the initiative turns discarded plastic into bricks that are used to build houses and was originally piloted in July 2022 at Cape Town Stadium for the Test between South Africa and Wales.
“We are so proud of the initiative,” said Sally Estcourt, the commercial account manager at SA Rugby. “We were trying to find a sustainability initiative to partner with and it's just been full steam ahead since 2022. It's been great.”
It starts with collection points across tournament venues where the plastic – water bottles, chip packets, wrappers, and polystyrene containers – is collected and then brought to a facility where it is granulated into 5-6mm pieces. It is then mixed with additives and melted into material which is used to replace the amount of regular aggregate in concrete bricks.
As well as the Wales Test two years ago, plastic has been collected from Cape Town Stadium as it played host to Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022, and the World Rugby U20 Championship in 2023 and this year.
To help educate and spread awareness, World Rugby and SA Rugby invited players from several of this year’s U20 Championship teams, including South Africa, New Zealand, England and Ireland, to visit the facility where the bricks are made.
Alongside stadium waste, plastic waste produced at the hotels that housed players and officials around Cape Town was also added to the mix. In all, 1.8 tonnes of plastic was turned into 21,000 bricks used to build six 18 square metre multi-room units and creating 15 jobs for the duration of the tournament – supporting not just environmental sustainability but social and economic sustainability also.
“In total, when you add up all the tournaments, we’ve collected almost nine tonnes of plastic waste and put it to use,” explained Abraham Avenant, CEO of CRDC South Africa, the company that produced the trademarked technology known as RESIN8. “That has translated into 85,000 bricks turned into 24 units built in Khayelitsha, Greenville and Eerste Rivier – some of the most under-resourced and disadvantaged areas around Cape Town.”
Currently the Cape Town factory that produces RESIN8 bricks is the only one in the country but, with aspirations to expand the operation, the long-term vision is to operate similar CRDC plants near Durban and Johannesburg.
Once these are up and running, SA Rugby will have the means to not only divert tonnes of plastic waste away from landfills but also address the important need of building low-cost affordable housing around the country.
“With significant health and environmental risks linked to plastic production, consumption and decomposition, we must collectively do more to reduce waste, especially from plastics and single-use items, wherever we can,” said Jaime McKeown, World Rugby’s Sustainability, Diversity and Inclusion Manager.
“Through their support for the 'Bag that Builds' initiative, South Africa Rugby, participating teams, fans and tournament partners alike have all embraced a shared ambition to deliver a more sustainable game – now and for generations to come.
“Respect for the planet, a passion to work together, and in solidarity with the communities worst-impacted, all channel rugby’s core values and have contributed to the continued success of this initiative, demonstrating the commitment of rugby stakeholders to making more sustainable choices across day-to-day activities both on and off the pitch.”
Linked to World Rugby being a signatory to the Sports for Climate Action and Sports for Nature frameworks, supported by the United Nations, the International Olympic Committee and others, the 'Bag that Builds' initiative is among an increasing number of positive actions with tangible benefits being taken across the global rugby family in support of climate action, waste reduction, and the protection/promotion of nature – to find out more, visit www.world.rugby/environment
