Environmental Awareness

The filter part of a cigarette butt is actually made from cellulose acetate which is a type of plastic. This plastic is very slow as degrading in the environment. It can take from 18 months to 10 years for a cigarette butt to decompose. What’s more, filters contain toxins and tobacco which when they degrade and go into the ground or water can damage it severely.

Littering can result in a large fine and people can be tried in a magistrates court for it. Part IV of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 states that it is a criminal offence to drop, throw, leave or leave litter in public. If caught it could result in a £2,500 fine.

Paper is something that every office goes through a large amount of. Printing things double sided could reduce the amount of paper used as well as making sure that people are not printing things and then leaving them at the printer just to be thrown in the bin.

Look at what can be reused in your office and what can be reduced in usage or quantity. E.g. cardboard boxes, stationery, IT equipment like memory sticks.

Provide different recycling options and grow them over time. The options can grow from just paper and card to glass plastic, print cartridges, etc. They should also be spread around the office so that people do not have an excuse not to use them!

If you need to find out your recycling collections date then follow this link.

Some workplaces only have collections that recycle certain recyclable materials. For examples, some recycling companies will not collect glass. So if you need to know where you can recycle these items you have 2 options, either you can take it home and recycle it there (if it is collected from your home). Or you can go to Recycle Now to find out where you can recycle specific items.