Currently we seem to be throwing away empty plastic milk bottles on the top floor. Is that the case for everyone? I suggest that we start to recycle these bottles as plastic is probably one of the worst materials to be chucking in the land fill. We’re probably throwing 8 bottles in the bin a week at an estimate? There’s a good chance other businesses are doing the same thing, to a similar scale. So a quick calculation makes that roughly 400 plastic bottles needlessly thrown away a year, just from the top floor. If there are 100 business doing the same thing in our local area thats 40,000 bottles needlessly thrown away every year.
Perhaps we could start to recycle these bottles and provide a good example for other businesses that might start reading this blog as it grows.
My suggestion would be to put a plastic box near the fridge, with a lid. When a bottle is empty put it in the box and put the lid back on. I will then take the empties home once a week on a Monday night ready for the recycling lorry on Tuesday.
If anyone has a better suggestion than this please use the comments form below to make it. If anyone has any objection to this proposal you can also use the comments form to let me know. Otherwise I can’t see any reason why we shouldn’t start doing this.
This will involve no extra hassle for anyone except to open and close the plastic container. I’m presuming the lack of a sink to wash the bottles out in is the reason we’re not currently recycling bottles. The lid will prevent the smell, but we will have to be hygienic — be sure not to spill milk and leave the bottle lids on when you dispose of empty bottles. That way no milk will spill thus avoiding hygiene problems. Just be careful to keep the container clean.
Does anyone know where we can get a suitable container for the empty bottles? Preferably free or cheap.
Cast your vote
If you are against please explain why using the comments form below.
Donna
As well as Milk bottles, we eat a lot of yogurts on the top floor, maybe we could wash those out and put in the same recycling container.
October 18th, 2007 at 2:15 pmThe recycling plant is only 100 yards along the road and is open later (7pm) on Wed and Thur.
Chris
So far everyone is in favour of recycling. However we have had an issue raised: without rinsing out the bottles the area may become smelly.
Maybe we could solve this by rinsing out the bottles at the end of/beginning of each day, then putting them back in the box, until they are taken to be recycled each week. Since bottles would be left in the open bins all day anyway this will not make a difference with regard to smell and hygeine.
In the graphics/web team we tend to wash each others mugs once or twice a day. This would be a good time to also grab an empty bottle of milk and rinse it out while doing a mug wash.
October 18th, 2007 at 2:17 pmMelanie
How about trying to buy Milk in glass bottles instead - I wonder if there is a local milkman that could deliver to The Consortium - and take away the empties?!
October 25th, 2007 at 1:59 pmChris
As long as he’s got an electric powered milk van!
No, sounds like a good idea, i’ll ask some locals if they know about that stuff.
Would also make milk organisation easier maybe? I’ve already been told off twice this week for not replenishing the milk supplies on time.
October 25th, 2007 at 2:05 pmSarah
The recycling centre only operates late night opening during the summer months ….just thought you ought to know.
December 5th, 2007 at 12:31 pmChris
That’s cool, I’ll take it all home and recycle it myself. We’ve got the tub now so I’ll write a post updating everyone and asking for comments.
December 5th, 2007 at 1:20 pmMelanie
Looks like we will just have to start shopping at Waitrose:
Extract from The Telegraph 4/2/08
February 5th, 2008 at 2:17 pmMilk to be sold in ‘green bags’
Shoppers will soon be able to buy milk in plastic bags as part of a green initiative. The biodegradable bags reduce landfill and save energy. The supermarket chain Waitrose is abolishing plastic milk bottles to reduce landfill and save the energy used in their manufacture.