Bolton's Ikon club ditches glass for plastic
7:50am Wednesday 18th March 2009 in News By Steven Thompson
PINT glasses and bottles are to be replaced with plastic alternatives at a town centre nightclub.
Ikon is making the move to ensure revellers do not suffer serious injuries if trouble breaks out.
Now a second Bolton club is considering becoming totally plastic.
Ikon manager, Derek Loadwick, said: “We don’t believe we have a particular problem but it just makes sense. It is a precautionary and preventative measure. The safety of our customers is paramount.”
Ikon, in Bridge Street, is Bolton’s biggest nightclub and regularly attracts 2,500 drinkers on busy weekend nights. It sells an average of 9,000 bottles a week.
For the last six months it has been using toughened plastic glasses, but will make the move to “totally plastic” next month.
All glasses will be replaced with plastic alternatives and the club will only stock brands of bottled beers and alcopops if they are available in plastic containers.
Figures show around 14 per cent of all injuries in night clubs involve glasses or bottles. Police statistics reveal that in December two people suffered “glassing” injuries in Ikon.
Bolton police’s licensing officer, PC Garry Lee, has welcomed the move.
He said: “It is an idea we have been pushing for some time. It is unfortunate that so many injuries are caused by glass or bottles and anything that reduces that threat has to be a good thing.
“There is some negativity from the trade nationally because people don’t like plastic glasses that will squash in their hand. But we’re talking about toughened plastic that doesn’t squash.”
Ikon is not the only club in the town to make the move to plastic. J2, in Nelson Square, has been using plastic glasses for the last year, but is yet to make the shift to plastic bottles.
J2 manager, Paul Roberts, said: “It is safer to use plastic and there is less damage caused to the floors. We are considering moving to using plastic bottles, too.”
Bolton town centre has seen a number of initiatives to crack down on violence in recent months.
Police knife arches have been a regular sight on Friday and Saturday nights and, before Christmas, police used bubbles to calm down rowdy club-goers.
Insp Phil Spurgeon, of Bolton Town Centre Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “We have seen a huge reduction in the levels of violent crime in Bolton town centre over the past few years.
“The police and other agencies in the Be Safe Partnership continue to work closely with all of the pubs and clubs to ensure we keep the town centre trouble free.
“The move to use plastic in Ikon is a part of that ongoing work to make sure everyone’s night out in Bolton is as safe as we can make it.”
