Ice rinks have become a seasonal tradition in London, popping up across the city ahead of Christmas, attracting thousands of visitors.
However, the festivities bring with them an environmental cost.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the greenhouse gases generated by ice skating rinks each year are equivalent to the emissions of about 110,000 cars on the road annually.
Whilst this includes the maintenance of professional ice rinks, the surge of temporary rinks around Christmas time is certain to contribute.
In response, the Natural History Museum has closed its temporary ice rink. In its place, an urban nature project was built, designed to boost local biodiversity.
A proposal to limit the environmental impact of temporary rinks is the use of artificial ice, made of high-density polyethylene panels.
However, polyethylene is the most common plastic on the market, and brings with it its own environmental concerns.
When the plastic ice is skated upon, small plastic shavings are created from the blades of the shoes. When brushed off of the ice, these are commonly binned, and end up polluting rivers and oceans if not safely disposed of.
Skaters on the ice rink at Somerset House.
Some Christmas ice rinks, like Skate at Somerset House, are taking other steps to limit their ecological impact.
Somerset House states: “In order to help reduce the amount of water required to maintain our ice across the season, we treat the water using reverse osmosis, using specialist equipment to remove salts and minerals from the water before it is used on the ice rink.”
They go on to say that they “use an electric-powered ice resurfacing machine [and] operate an infra-red system for monitoring the temperature of the ice that enables us to control the ice with greater accuracy and help reduce energy demand, particularly overnight.”
When approached, other temporary London ice rinks, such as Glide at Battersea Power Station and Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park, did not comment.
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HeadlineSkating towards sustainability: The environmental impact of London’s festive ice rinks
Short HeadlineThe sustainability of London’s festive ice rinks
StandfirstIce skating has been a part of London’s history for centuries, with the first recorded instance dating all the way back to the 1100’s.
Ice rinks have become a seasonal tradition in London, popping up across the city ahead of Christmas, attracting thousands of visitors.
However, the festivities bring with them an environmental cost.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the greenhouse gases generated by ice skating rinks each year are equivalent to the emissions of about 110,000 cars on the road annually.
Whilst this includes the maintenance of professional ice rinks, the surge of temporary rinks around Christmas time is certain to contribute.
In response, the Natural History Museum has closed its temporary ice rink. In its place, an urban nature project was built, designed to boost local biodiversity.
A proposal to limit the environmental impact of temporary rinks is the use of artificial ice, made of high-density polyethylene panels.
However, polyethylene is the most common plastic on the market, and brings with it its own environmental concerns.
When the plastic ice is skated upon, small plastic shavings are created from the blades of the shoes. When brushed off of the ice, these are commonly binned, and end up polluting rivers and oceans if not safely disposed of.
Skaters on the ice rink at Somerset House.
Some Christmas ice rinks, like Skate at Somerset House, are taking other steps to limit their ecological impact.
Somerset House states: “In order to help reduce the amount of water required to maintain our ice across the season, we treat the water using reverse osmosis, using specialist equipment to remove salts and minerals from the water before it is used on the ice rink.”
They go on to say that they “use an electric-powered ice resurfacing machine [and] operate an infra-red system for monitoring the temperature of the ice that enables us to control the ice with greater accuracy and help reduce energy demand, particularly overnight.”
When approached, other temporary London ice rinks, such as Glide at Battersea Power Station and Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park, did not comment.
