The municipality turns around and gives Oslo club rubber granules – MDG rages

The 2nd division team Kjelsås plays its matches on the field which will be rehabilitated this year. The decision, following a proposal from the Progress Party, received a majority together with the Labor Party and the Conservative Party.

City councilor for sports Anita Leirvik North (H) first put her foot down to the proposal from Frps Magnus Birkelund. Then it was referred to the Hammersborg declaration, which states that the municipality must continue phasing out rubber granules. It ended in a complete reversal.

Following the decision in the city council, sports council Leirvik North responds:

– We treat each other equally. The Norwegian Football Association sets stricter requirements for pitches used for games in the top two divisions for women and the top four divisions for men, and this applies to the pitches that the Conservative Party has given a dispensation for rubber granules, North tells NTB.

In September last year, the European Commission adopted a ban on microplastics with a transition period of eight years. This means that it will be prohibited to sell rubber granules from 15 October 2031. Oslo municipality decided in 2020 that the use of rubber granules should be cut by up to 50 per cent.

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MDG: – Another broken promise

The Green Party reacts strongly to the decision.

– The Conservative Party breaks with its own city council platform. It clearly only applies on paper and not in practice. It’s quite a bit, says MDG’s group leader in Oslo Sirin Stav to NTB.

– It is yet another breach of promise from the Conservative Party which leads us to fill both the fjord and the bodies of our children with microplastics. They will take over a world with more and more microplastics in nature, and this will contribute even more to that, she says.

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Sports Council North replies:

– MDG and I share the ambition of phasing out. Oslo municipality will phase out rubber granules, there are many reasons why we want and have to do that. That was also my answer to the city council in this case. The Conservative Party has a long history of working for phasing out, where, among other things, the leader of the city council has been a driving force, but we have also been pragmatic, most recently in last year’s revised budget when Lyn received dispensation through a verbal proposal.

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In addition to Lyn, Skeid has also received a dispensation in the capital.

At Grefsen, the atmosphere is good. The men’s senior team is in the middle of the table in the 2nd division. And the decision means not least a lot for all age-restricted teams in the sports team.

– It was fantastic for us. Now it has finally been ensured that we can maintain winter operations at Grefsen Stadium for all our active players in football, both wide and top, says general manager Truls Nygaard to NTB.

– Reduces the energy requirement

He explains why Kjelsås so strongly wanted an exception from the municipality:

– To ensure winter operation, we wanted a dispensation as we have installed underfloor heating with renewable energy from geothermal energy, which is environmentally friendly and cost-effective. The challenge is that the plant cannot extract the same effect as gas or pure electric heating. SBR filling significantly reduces the energy requirement, explains Nygaard.

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– What does Kjelsås think about the environmental aspect of this case?

– We have an environmentally friendly underfloor heating system with renewable energy, the most environmentally friendly and cost-effective heating. A number of measures have been taken to prevent infill from going astray, this will be significantly improved and will be in accordance with current requirements in connection with the rehabilitation of the track, says Nygaard.