Stay Hydrated and Save the Planet
- 15th Apr 2024
- Author: Elliott Langley - Marketing Administrator
If you have been to visit the National Space Centre over the Easter Bank Holiday or while the schools have been off, then you might have noticed that we have made some changes to our Boosters café. Gone are the days of single-use plastic bottles of water or fizzy drinks. Instead, we now have Water In A Box and Bottle Up on sale to keep you hydrated during your visit, as well as canned fizzy drinks only.
Previously we had been working to reduce the amount of single-use plastic in the café until eventually removing it completely. This is an important milestone in our journey to become net zero by 2030, and with this change we can now loudly and proudly confirm that we have reached our goal to remove all single-use plastic from Boosters.
Bottle Up
Looking appropriately futuristic for our Centre, Bottle Up comes in a container made from sugar cane -- a renewable resource, meaning its effect on the environment is far smaller than single-use plastic. Producing these containers uses less water and energy than it would to make the kind of plastic bottles that we’re used to seeing.
The bottles are completely reusable and can be kept long after your visit us, to help you save from purchasing one-off plastic drinks bottles. They’re tough, sturdy, and let’s be honest, they look really cool. The team in Boosters will be more than happy to refill yours, keeping you hydrated whilst exploring our Exhibition.
Not only that, but our teams also recently installed 2 water fountains within our Centre – one can be located near our Changing Places facility and LIVE Space toilets, whilst the other can be found in our John Egglestone Suite.
Water In A Box
Fully living up to its name, Water In A Box comes in a, well…box. The boxes are produced using paperboard which comes from trees and is also a renewable source. This method of production reduces the impact on the planet and the overall carbon footprint of the packaging.
And just like Bottle Up, the lid this is made from sugarcane and is plant-based, so the packaging is completely plastic-free!
It might seem like a “small step”, but switching to recyclable and biodegradable alternatives in the café means we are increasing the ways that we look after our Home Planet. It’s important to us that we help visitors understand how actions such as owning a reusable bottle is an easy way of being more environmentally responsible.
"By removing plastic bottles from our cafe and installing two water refill stations, we've taken a big step towards our goal of becoming net zero by 2030,” said Teresa, our Head of Commercial Operations. “We're dedicated to offering eco-friendly alternatives and supporting our visitors on their sustainable journey."
