PLASTIC
We need to use less plastic. Currently, the equivalent of one dumper truck of plastic every minute ends up in our oceans and this is set to increase to 2 every minute in the near future. It is also making it into the food chain. All of us can make an impact by using less non-reusable plastic. Here are some of the ways that the JDH team are trying to make a difference:
- Reusable water bottle – buying water has been shown to cost 500 times more than refilling from a tap and it has the same minerals and health benefits. Try using a refillable bottle and save plastic and money!
- Cloth facial cleanser – wipes are made of plastic and are a huge problem and they are not biodegradable either. Use a reusable, washable facial cloth instead (we used to do this years ago and called them flannels!)
- Reusable shopping bags – plastic bags stick around for 1,000 years. Keep these in your bag or car ready for shopping.
- Reusable lunch boxes – plastic wrap and sandwich bags end up in landfill. Make your own sandwiches and save the planet and save money!
- Shampoo bar – (yes, a soap bar!) Every year we use many bottles of shampoo. This natural product with no plastic packaging is better for the environment and cleans just as well as shampoo.
- Refills – instead of buying another plastic bottle – try buying refills. For example, Dettol has recently introduced refills for hand soap and cleaning sprays. They use 70% less plastic and you get the same result.
OTHER
- We have a food recycling caddie in our office
- We have a recycling bin in our office for plastic, cans and glass
- We recycle our paper and ink cartridges
- We recycle our files and archive our paperwork using treasury tags
- We have recycled a few of our laptops – data cleansed first and then given to people to re-use
- Most of our training is done via webinars, so we have cut down on our travel
- Some of the team have remote log ins, so some can work from home, cutting down on travel
- On longer journeys, the team will car pool
- We offer our clients a remote document approval option, so they don’t have to travel in to meet with us if they are too busy (although we are always happy to see them)
These were the ideas that we came up with. If you have any suggestions to add, please let us know.