Reducing plastic waste
A lot needs to be done to change this country's plastic usage and how it deals with waste, but we can do things in the meantime to make a difference.
Each year, 400 million tonnes of plastic is produced and 40% of that is single use plastic we’ll only use once before it’s binned! It’s a problem that Sam Neville, our Conference and Internal Services Manager here at 20 Cavendish Square has been taking some positive steps to support by encouraging everyone to do their little bit and make a difference.
Here’s the latest blog Sam has put on the RCN intranet:
David Attenborough, what a legend! Watching Blue Planet had quite a profound effect on me and spurred me on to take some responsibility for this beautiful planet of ours. The damage we’re causing to the earth and all its inhabitants just by doing seemingly normal, everyday things has blown me away. Plastic is a serious threat to marine life and it’s really horribly sad. BUT… we can do something to help Mother Earth and her oceans, we all just need to ‘do our bit’ but really really do it this time.
Myself and a small group of like-minded volunteers at HQ have got together and discussed ways in which we could all be a bit less wasteful and kinder to the environment in simple ways every day.
A lot of the action we can take boils down to some common sense and a bit of co-operation from everyone.
So. What first?
Small steps, just think about how many single use cups are used in the average workplace. Thousands and thousands! They aren’t easily recyclable given the thin plastic coating on the inner rim so almost all of them will go to landfill.
What can we do?
How about we all bring in a favourite mug from home? Or treat ourselves to a new one just for work? That’s what we plan to do here at HQ. As of Friday 15th June, coffee and water cups are being removed from the building. Let’s be part of a growing workforce out there that are simply ‘doing away’ with single use plastic.
If we all stopped routinely using these items we’ll be sending an astonishing amount LESS to landfill, not to mention saving money.
A lot needs to be done to change this country’s plastic usage and how it deals with waste, but we can do things in the meantime. We believe this is all about people taking a bit of personal ownership and for this to become a success we need as much support as possible so please get on board!
To quote a paragraph from an article by Chris Packham in The Big Issue regarding Plastic Reduction…
"We could pour another drink, sit back and watch our earth burn. Or we could acknowledge our conscience and predicament and start fixing things. And to do that all we sometimes need is a kick up the arse."
Chris Packham
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