5 Tactics to Help Cut Down on Single Use Plastics in the Office
We produce over 300 million tonnes of plastic across the globe each and every year, half of which is single-use. It’s not surprising, then, that businesses like ours and yours are looking for ways to reduce single use plastic in the workplace!
This is a quest we started ourselves, particularly last year, and we’re still looking for ways to improve our sustainability in the office. You might have caught our blog post on ways to become more eco-friendly in the office too; we’ve discovered some great advice and tactics on our mission, so if you’re searching for ideas to help you reduce single use plastic usage in your office, keep reading to see what we’ve found!
1. Discourage single use water bottles
On-the-go drinks bottles make up a significant proportion of single use plastic usage, but they’re too easy to purchase when you’re out and about! This is evident in the fact that 1,000,000 plastic bottles are bought each minute across the world. It’s a frighteningly high number, and it’s so important for us to do our bit in reducing it. To do so, there are some simple office tactics that help to discourage the use of single use plastics in the office.
Firstly, offering easy access to water in the workplace is important. It makes it easy for staff to fill their glasses or reusable bottles, deterring them from buying disposable plastic bottles.
This feature helps staff who are in the office, but what about those who are out of it? If you really want to go the extra mile to cut down on single use plastics, provide staff members with reusable water bottles. You could also consider purchasing branded ones to make them beneficial in more ways than one!
2. Reusable cutlery, plates and mugs
If your office is guilty of having them, make sure to banish all disposable cutlery, plates and cups in sight! Replace these with washable and reusable versions instead to completely cut out this type of single use plastic. It’s important that your office kitchen is stocked with the right kitchen utensils first though!
3. Hire a milk man
If, like us, you go through copious amounts of tea and coffee as an office team, hiring a milk man is a great way of cutting down on single use plastics. Shop-bought milk bottles are plastic containers, but the milk delivered by a milk man will be delivered in glass bottles, which you then exchange for filled milk bottles once empty. All glass bottles returned are then washed and reused over and over - no plastic in sight!
The added benefit of this is also that no one has to nip out to buy the milk, as it will get delivered straight to your workplace!
4. Buy local and refillable fruit orders
Do you offer fruit in your workplace? Having fruit is great for promoting health and wellbeing at work, but shop-bought fruit is often packaged in plastic. To reduce the amount of single use plastics in your workplace, consider buying from a local fruit provider. This is not only a fantastic way to support a local business, but local fruit and veg companies often deliver their goods loose in a box, deliver it to your fruit bowl, and take the box away with them to reuse. No plastic! Over the course of a year, you can make a significant reduction in the amount of single use plastics entering your office.
5. Assess Your Office Products
Take a look at the regular products you buy in or get delivered to your workspace. Paper orders, ink deliveries, stationary, food items, lunches – what does it get delivered in? If these items are delivered in plastic, it’s worth speaking to your supplier to see if they can change the way the products are packaged, or look at alternatives that are plastic-free.
Cutting out single use plastics completely can be extremely difficult to start with, so making gradual and small steps like the above can help you and your office on your merry way to reducing the use of single use plastics.
Are you also interested in additional ways of helping your workplace move towards a more sustainable future? We can advise and help you to introduce the right materials into your office space! If you’re looking to refurbish areas of your office or invest in new furniture, now is a great time to consider environmentally-friendly materials and items.
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