*this article does contain links to 3rd party websites which PacSol has no content control over and may host articles, adverts or express opinions not supported by PacSol.
This July saw the Plastic Free Foundation’s plastic free month campaign return, encouraging the public to pledge to review and (hopefully) change their single use plastic habits. For many years now, environmental campaigns have focused on the need to reduce paper and fossil fuel usage within all aspects of our lives but plastic is becoming the ‘new’ issue.
Whilst the actions of one teenage girl rekindled the fossil fuel debate for a new generation, the BBC programs “Blue Planet II” and “War on Plastic” highlighted the blight of plastic caused by the human race on our planet. (If you have never watched ‘War on Plastic’, this writer highly recommends it) Many more recent campaigns are asking the public to not only consider a product’s environmental impact / cost but also the manufacturing company’s ethics and their contribution to (rather than exploitation of) the world. However for many it seems, the prospect of making what appear to be drastic individual changes that on the surface make no appreciable difference is a step too far.
Whilst PacSol specialise in helping your business improve resource usage and increase process productivity through our range of capture, storage and integration products, perhaps our employees can also inspire you with some easy, personal ways to contribute to helping our planet Earth all year round. Remember – if we all make one small change, the collective impact will be measurable and appreciated by our planet / younger generations.
Keep it clean: Ditch those plastic bottles in the bathroom and swap to a traditional soap bar. One of our employees is a particular fan of Friendly Soap who not only create fantastic products at a fair price (check out some of the prices for ‘ethical soap’ online and you will see what we mean), they also proudly push for greater environmental and ethical standards.
Let it grow: (extra points for guessing the film reference) If you are not fortunate enough to still have a local, well stocked greengrocer who uses paper bags but you do have a little garden space, why not grow your own? Collectively members of our team are growing tomatoes, strawberries, raspberries, courgettes, broccoli, runner beans, apples, loofah(!) and potatoes. Think of all the plastic punnets / bags not used shopping for these items (and the satisfaction of eating home grown foods). You can even grow veg in pots on a balcony.
Toilet talk: Recycled, plastic free and ethically conscious – a toilet paper that helps to build sanitary facilities for those that currently don’t have access to any is the next employee recommendation. Whilst some might find the WGAC name troublesome (try explaining it to a 4 year old), there is no denying that this is one easy way to be a part of big changes. Oh, go premium – it is worth the £4 extra!
Reduce, reuse, recycle: Most of us have recycling collections and do our best but plastic is still an issue as most common plastics in use cannot be recycled easily like glass or tin. Ideally, just not having plastic in the first place is the best solution. Reuse becomes key – did you know, you can use ANY plastic bag in a supermarket to weigh up and buy loose fruit and vegetables? Yes ANY plastic bag. Don’t forget to recycle bread bags & cereal packet inners along with your old carrier bags at most larger supermarkets!
Don’t get in a spin: Forget the big detergent players and their massive plastic bottles – give SMOL a try with their completely plastic free packaging, subscription delivery, cruelty free ingredients with excellent cleaning performance (children tested). They also now produce dishwasher tablets so you can get a 2 for 1 plastic saving in the kitchen!!!
Our eco-conscious employees are not finished yet. One is currently researching cleaning concentrate pods (which allow you to mix up spray cleaners in re-used bottles) therefore no new plastic – something like Ocean Saver. There are also more planet / human friendly deodorants currently in test – Wild if you are interested. Closed loop, recycled Oral-B electric toothbrush heads – yep, testing these from LiveCoco too.
Also, do check for local TerraCycle collection points in your area as crisp packets, toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes, pet food pouches etc can all be dropped off to be taken for processing. Did we miss anything obvious or do you have your own suggestions – why not comment below and let everyone know?
Toby Gilbertson, Customer Services Manager. July 2020
#pacsoluk #environment #plasticfree #ethicalconsumer