We are taking the Plastic Free July challenge

It’s Plastic Free July and after 2 weeks of attempting to operate a plastic-free office, what have we learnt? 

Well, it’s incredibly difficult to go plastic free in our society!

Does that mean we shouldn’t try to reduce our usage where we can? Of course not – every little bit helps.

Around the office, we have implemented a number of actions over the years to reduce our plastic waste (i.e. no coffee capsules, non-plastic biros, nude lunches – not what you’re thinking!). You can read about our sustainability actions here. Still, there are always improvements to be made and Plastic Free July helps draw attention to single-use plastics and to think of alternative solutions.

Probably the biggest issue we have come across in the last week is plastic packaging. We receive and send a lot of parcels and the majority come with either plastic satchels, or plastic/styrofoam packaging. This is a difficult one as there are not many options but we’ll continue to look at more sustainable alternatives for packages we send, source suppliers that try to avoid unnecessary plastics, and encourage our partner organisations to do the same. 

Meanwhile one of the things we are focusing on is take away coffee cups. The new rule around the office is if you don’t have a Keep Cup, you either go without a coffee or sit and drink in the cafe – a great way for a short break from the office.

Now it would be great if all cafe's would come on board and offer discounts for people with Keep Cups as many places now do!