Virgin Active says that it aims to minimise the production of plastic waste at all its clubs and to reduce the amount of waste being sent to landfills through its Net Zero Waste initiative.

Virgin Active will manufacture new materials from the waste they produce before it is disposed of in landfills.

Their goal is to send zero waste to landfills.

Head of Changing Business for Good at Virgin Active, Wesley Noble said they believe that they have a responsibility to keep the environmental impact of their operations to an absolute minimum.

“That’s why we’ve committed to net zero environmental impact by 2030. Meaning that what we take out we must put back. This ambition includes net zero carbon, water and waste,” Noble said to IOL.

Virgin Active conducted an in-depth waste study that revealed that 93% of the waste it produced could be used for recycling or composting.

Virgin Active Constantia will be the first net zero waste club in the Western Cape.

The organisation strives to implement it across South Africa.

23 health clubs are expected to adopt the net zero waste approach over the next 18 months, some of them including Virgin Active Mitchells Plain, Tygervalley, Green Point and Claremont.

“We intend to ensure that all products procured and used within our value chain are clearly marked according to their waste stream and therefore we will introduce on-pack recycling labels that allow our consumers to understand the content of these items and ensure their proper disposal to ensure the product is reused, recycled or disposed of responsibly,” said Noble.