Green Jobs

A Team effort - Virgin Active and Kauai tackle recycling issues together - 16 July 2008

Virgin Active South Africa announced today their carefully designed Full Circle Recycling Campaign. “We feel that it is our responsibility to get involved with recycling, whilst so many companies are only talking about it. Virgin Active, together with Kauai, has some fantastic recycling initiatives up and running and more to be implemented in the near future,� says Elaine Jobson, National Operations Manager for South Africa.

The Full Circle Recycling campaign will be rolled out in all Virgin Active health clubs nationwide. Virgin Active are ensuring that all plastic drums, used for chemical storage and application are recycled by Health and Hygiene cleaning services, and that all drums are cleaned prior to recycling. 200 of these units, being 5 litre plastic drums, are recycled each month, and are then reused in the chemical storage industry.

Jobson impresses that; “All our Virgin Active staff are motivated, involved and go the extra mile by making certain that all light bulbs, being energy saving units, and fluorescent lighting are disposed of in a legislated environmentally friendly manner. Our printer cartridges and packaging boxes are also recycled and all the working parts are reused.

Kauai, the delicious healthy food and beverage company situated in certain Virgin Active health clubs have joined Virgin Active in this recycling action campaign. Kauai has implemented a system whereby all their 5 Litre juice containers are recycled. “For each recycled plastic bottle, we are saving the equivalent amount of energy to power a 100-watt light bulb for 2 hours,� says Geli Briolas of Kauai. “All wheatgrass containers are reusable and the wheatgrass that is not utilized is returned to the supplier for ground for compost.�

“This campaign is designed in both a fun and informative way – it’s all about joining the green movement and getting tangible results,� continues Jobsen. “We hope that this will not only motivate and encourage our staff but also our members to get them involved with making a few small changes around the home and office environment.�

Virgin Active soon plans to have an in-club recycling project in place, whereby each club (85 in total) collects paper, metals and plastics within the club and office environments. “We can also look forward to Kauai’s venture into having all their suppliers deliver in reusable crates rather than packaged goods which produce excess waste. This movement falls in line with our national strategy to improve our global green issues,� concludes Jobson, “and we hope to encourage fellow businesses and people alike to join the movement and get involved.�

With the stream of Green campaigns currently in motion it becomes hard to differentiate between those that are making a tangible impact and those that are not. The recycling campaign run by Virgin Active and Kauai has become a great example of a real hands-on approach to making a difference to the environment within their own working environments.