Every year, Rachel’s workplace saves 70,000 plastic cups from landfill

How does one person get a busy hospital to reduce their plastic use?

After talking with fellow staff about the hospital’s use of single-use plastics, Rachel decided there had to be a better way. Rachel, along with patients and staff, were increasingly concerned with the damage single-use plastics were doing to the environment. After a little research, a few simple substitutions were made, replacing single-use plastics with more sustainable options. The results speak for themselves! Rachel’s pledge has seen Bentley Health Service avoid using 70,000 plastic cups annually. Considering they signed their Plastic Free July pledge in 2015, that’s a lot of plastic cups saved from landfill!

Rachel’s pledge to Plastic Free July

After finding out about Plastic Free July, Rachel presented the idea to her workplace to see if they would be keen to participate.

“We started with the kiosks and catering service – replacing plastic cups and utensils with wooden popsicles and ceramic cups,” Rachel said. “We then switched plastic cups to paper cups for patient medication rounds. I was surprised at how simple it was and was encouraged by the number of staff and patients who shared my concern.”

It goes to show that getting your workplace on board can achieve big results! By making simple changes you’ll be surprised at just how easy it is to be plastic free.