Green Gooners: What an atmosphere at Arsenal vs Real Madrid - but were plastic bags the most-eco friendly option

In world full of plastic pollution 60,000 plastic bags were simply not greenest option  

What a night at the Emirates on Wednesday as Arsenal dismantled 15-time European champions Real Madrid, but many Arsenal fans could not believe the best option for the red and white pre-match crowd display was plastic bags.

In a plastic crisis and world full of plastic pollution, it appears that around 60,000 ‘special’ plastic bags were ordered “to be kept as a memory”.

These will take hundreds of years to decompose, release toxic chemicals, accumulate in landfill and threaten wildlife.

A disappointing legacy for the biggest night in the Emirates’ 20-year history.

It seems the tifo was organised by the Ashburton Army and funded by a GoFundMe fundraiser. Presumably, plastic bags were the cheapest option.

It was clearly done with Arsenal’s collaboration and the club should only have approved a more environmentally-friendly option (eg fabric, paper, card). 

Arsenal have a lot of excellent environmental initiatives but something like this undoes the good work.

Disappointingly, it is an area where we are behind our rivals Spurs, which has been named the Premier League’s greenest club the last few years by both Sport Positive and in the Sustainability Impact Awards. 

There is no doubt the stadium looked amazing and the display helped get the stadium rocking well before kick-off.

So come on Arsenal, let’s get it right in future starting with the semi-final. 

Green Gooners: Arsenal Fans for the Environment

An independent group of Arsenal fans to show that London is green as well as red

Instagram: @greengoonersforever

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