When working from the office, a cost-effective and environmentally friendly lunch option that many of the team opt for is a packed lunch (preferably enjoyed in sunshine, sat on one of the new granite benches overlooking the bridge).
Where possible we avoid rubbish by preparing our own food and transporting it in re-usable containers, but additional items still generate rubbish. We’re now reducing that waste with the provision of crisp packet recycling facilities in each office, because – let’s be honest – no matter how much we swap snacks for fruit, almost everyone likes crisps.
The crisp packets are regularly collected by a volunteer in the team, who delivers them to a TerraCycle volunteer collection point. Once collected, the packets are separated by plastic type, cleaned, and broken down into plastic pellets to make new recycled products.
This is much more energy efficient than manufacturing and transporting new items made from raw materials.
As an added bonus to reducing waste going to landfill, before the recycling process begins the packets are weighed and a donation is made by TerraCycle to the Air Ambulance Kent, Surrey & Sussex (AAKSS). As an example, 5kg of crisp packets translates into a £5 donation. So that’s two good deeds in one.
Spring 2022 update
The team is very pleased to report a total of 480g of crisp packets were saved from landfill and sent for recycling. These were taken to the collection point and added to recycling from other organisations, for the benefit of the environment and AAKSS.
This particular scheme has now been discontinued, however we continue to collect staff crisp packets while we identify an alternative recycling option.
