“Every minute the equivalent of a truck full of plastic is emptied into the world’s oceans”[1]. The effect of plastic waste has received a lot of coverage in the media in recent months, most notably with the BBC documentaries Blue Planet 2 and the War on Plastic. It is thought that by the year 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than the total number of fish.
While we at Freeman Technology have taken a number of steps over the past few years to decrease our environmental impact, including switching to eco-friendly cleaning brands (Big Green Cleaning Company), increasing what we recycle by collaborations with Reuseful UK and IT Schools Africa, and moving to recycled products such as paper and packaging material, there is always room to do more. We have therefore decided to no longer distribute promotional items at events we attend. This includes ‘freebies’ helping reduce plastic waste generated, and also looking to reduce paper waste by providing electronic copies of our literature where feasible. It is also now company policy for staff to take reusable coffee cups and water bottles to all events.
[1] – BBC, ‘War on Plastic’: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0005xgz