Reducing Your Plastic Consumption As a Business
If you are looking for ways to reduce your plastic consumption as a business, here are some tips to help you get started. You can also create a talk to share your ideas for reducing single-use plastic usage and the overall production of commercial waste. A few ways to reduce your business’s plastic usage are using reusables whenever possible, providing filtered water or adding a filter to your kitchen tap, and reducing the number of disposable cups and plates your employees use. This will also help save costs as the need for extra commercial waste collections should decrease as you reduce your carbon footprint.
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Reducing Your Plastic Consumption: Talk To Your Employees
Creating a talk to reduce single-use plastic in your business
Developing a talk about the impact of single-use plastic on the environment can help inspire your staff to do the same. You can also gift reusable products to employees, such as reusable bottles. Change your suppliers to one that uses less plastic or offers a reusable product. Regardless of your chosen method, you’ll need to ensure everyone is on the same page and aware of the impact of single-use plastic on the environment.
One way to encourage your employees to make this change is to share the facts about the adverse effects of single-use plastic on the environment. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, more than one trillion pieces of plastic are in the ocean. This includes everything from plastic straws to sanitising wipes made of polyester. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is now bigger than France, and it has more plastic than Europe’s entire population.
A talk on positively impacting the environment can inspire employees and boost brand trust. One example is Sky’s Ball, which has phased out all internal plastic. It has also collaborated with Premier League and Volvo and launched the Sky Ocean Scholars‘ scholarship programme. According to Sutherland, a talk on reducing single-use plastic in your business can increase brand recognition and positively impact the environment.
Reducing Your Plastic Consumption: Reusable Items
Reusables are an old idea that companies are reviving to make their products more environmentally friendly. Reusable bottles, cans, and other containers allow consumers to refill them and save money simultaneously. In addition to reducing plastic waste, reusability allows companies to reinvent themselves as modern milkmen and deliver their products in environmentally-friendly containers. They’re also changing the way consumers think about packaging and waste.
In addition to reducing the amount of single-use plastic you use, using reusables can save you money. For example, you can offer your employees reusable items, saving money in the long run and minimising your environmental impact.
Additionally, using reusables allows your employees to participate in a company’s sustainability initiatives and meet monthly targets for a prize. Many businesses use reusables to reduce plastic consumption and reward their employees for meeting targets. Reusables also help the environment, and science backs this up. Switching to reusables from single-use plastic could unlock unique market opportunities.
For example, converting all personal care products to reusable containers could save over six million tonnes of material.
Moreover, innovative product delivery systems could save eighty per cent of plastic packaging material, translating into an economic opportunity of £9 billion. Regarding food packaging, single-use containers make up the majority of ocean plastic pollution. To combat this problem, workplaces can encourage colleagues to bring reusable or take-out containers. This will help change their behaviours and contribute to reducing trash in landfills.
Another way to reduce the amount of trash in the environment is to switch to reusable water bottles or filter dispensers.
Reducing Your Plastic Consumption: Water Solutions
Whether providing your employees with a mains-fed water cooler or fitting a filtration system in the kitchen tap, providing filtered water will cut down on your business’s plastic waste. Below are some tips about providing filtered water in your office:
- Filtered water tastes better than bottled water, and it will encourage your colleagues to ditch plastic water bottles and bring their reusable water bottles instead.
- There is a range of models available, from essential to expensive.
- While some dispensers have a plastic exterior, others feature stainless steel or chrome.
- These options are more attractive and less likely to be prone to tarnishing over time.
- Some filters require periodic replacing, and some models have indicators to tell you how long they suit.
- Aside from reducing the amount of single-use plastics, a filtration system can also help protect appliances.
- Unfiltered water can accumulate particles and cause appliances to slow down or malfunction.
- Filtered water will reduce particle buildup, preserve appliance performance, reduce commercial waste and reduce energy consumption.
Consider purchasing a filtration system if you want to save energy and commercial waste collection costs. If you’re a small business, installing a countertop water dispenser may be more practical. These units can be connected to the main water line. Most of them use plumbing from the sink. Countertop water dispensers are much smaller and require less storage space than other options. Additionally, they provide instant access to clean filtered water. And they’re an excellent alternative to a refrigerator or countertop water dispenser.
Reducing Your Plastic Consumption: Ditch the Single-Use Items
If you run a business and want to reduce your plastic consumption, use compostable carrier bags, teabags, and ceramic mugs. According to Novamont, a company that produces biodegradable plastic, these bags biodegrade entirely in the sea within four months or a year. Using biodegradable bags is a great way to tackle food waste, which accounts for most of our plastic waste. Since the environmental impact of plastic consumption has become a growing issue, we’ve seen a growing movement to find alternatives to single-use plastics.
But while new environmental messaging has become increasingly important, many businesses are only starting to get involved. A ban on single-use plastics is coming next year in the UK and 2021 in Canada. This will only make it more critical for businesses to switch to more sustainable materials. Single-use items are anything you use only once. These include water bottles, shopping bags, take-out containers, and straws. Most of these items can be replaced with reusable alternatives.
Single-use products are one-third of the plastic waste generated in Canada, and most of this plastic is not recyclable or biodegradable. As a result, these items litter our communities and contaminate municipal blue box programs. Another way to reduce your plastic consumption is to use reusable plastic bottles. These bottles can be used for drinks or shopping. And reusable plastic bags help reduce the amount of single-use plastic you use. Many stores now offer a discount for consumers who use their reusable bags. That means they are not wasting as much plastic as you might think.
Reducing Your Plastic Consumption: Education
The first step to reducing your business’s plastic consumption is to educate your colleagues about the environmental impact of single-use plastic. Many single-use plastic bottles are sent to the ocean as garbage. You can reduce the amount of plastic you use by encouraging colleagues to bring reusable containers. Providing reusable take-out containers and a cooler with filtered water can also reduce the trash in landfills. Replace plastic water bottles with reusable bottles or eliminate vending machines.
Next, take a look at the types of plastics you use. An excellent way to reduce your plastic use is to go through your garbage and inventory the different types of plastic packaging. The kitchen and bathroom will likely have a lot of plastic, so check your recycling program and learn which plastics are recyclable. This will make the transition easier. Then, look into buying reusable items.
For example, buying reusable bottles and straws instead of disposable plastic bottles can reduce the amount of single-use plastic thrown away. In addition, purchasing items locally and buying larger sizes reduces packaging. Lastly, bring reusable containers to restaurants and dispose of your trash properly. The impact of this simple step can be enormous. You can also participate in campaigns encouraging employees to reduce their use of single-use plastics in the workplace, such as Plastic Free July.
Your employees will most likely take the Plastic Free July challenge to their families and workplaces. Educating yourself and your colleagues to reduce plastic consumption as a business will positively impact your company’s bottom line. If you do this right, it will become straightforward.
Reducing Your Plastic Consumption – Learn more about UK business waste statistics here
Other useful links from our Commercial Waste Centre
The Benefits of Dry Mixed Recycling
Looking After Your Business Bins
Commercial Skip Hire – How to Find a Cheap Deal
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