ພາສາລາວ
There is no doubt that waste plastic is a major source of pollution. Plastic never goes away. It cannot biodegrade; it breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces which seep down into the soil and release chemicals, which eventually reach the water supply
Plastic waste affects human health, spoils our groundwater and threatens wild and marine life. Yet, we still use and waste plastic at our homes, at our offices, at our schools.
The BEQUAL team is committed to minimize its negative impacts on the environment and decided to take action against plastic. They organized a plastic challenge to come up with practical ideas to reduce the use of plastic in their workplace. Very motivated, the team submitted a total of 65 suggestions ranging from changes in the shopping, eating and drinking habits to new rules for printing in the office. During an all staff meeting, Coffey’s BEQUAL team selected the 5 most practical ideas for immediate action and two aspirational ideas to work towards for implementation.
A BEQUAL Plastic Waste Reduction Policy is now being drafted and will apply to all BEQUAL offices, events and activities.
The first decision is the ban of single use plastic bottles of water in events and workshops organized by BEQUAL. The team will advocate for and influence workshop organisers to provide drinking water in re-usable jugs and glasses. The team also decided to ban plastic document covers and folders frequently used to hand over documents in the office and in workshops; they will be replaced by renewable materials, such as paper sleeves. With the high number of workshops organized, those two measures will have a positive impact on BEQUAL’s reduction of plastic use!
Coffey’s BEQUAL staff also voted to to change our printing habits to cut out the number of plastic cartridges, to stop lining office rubbish bins with plastic bags and to provide re-usable cotton bags for office-related shopping.
And BEQUAL will not stop with these first five measures! In the near future, BEQUAL staff is committed to work towards Zero Waste Workshops and to work with suppliers to reduce their use of plastic packaging.
And you, what will you do to reduce your plastic waste? Are you ready to take action with the BEQUAL Team? And to be a part of the solution, not the pollution!