Hello!

If you’re venturing back into the Faculty, the MMLL Green Team would like to welcome you with a Covid-cautious cheery wave. It’s been a long time since it felt lively here! 

Here are our top tips for making your return to the workplace as green as possible.

Fancy a brew?

• Only fill the kettle with the amount of water that you require (but make sure it’s at least the minimum that the kettle needs). It’s even better if you can team up with someone else who wants a hot drink at the same time!
• If you bring milk to the office, choose a reusable container which you can refill at home (saving on extra plastic bottles)
• Many teabags contain oil-based plastics so choose ones that don’t. The Moral Fibres website has a comprehensive guide. Yorkshire Tea is making the switch to biodegradable, plant-based plastics, though they still need to be composted “industrially” rather than in a garden compost bin. Read all about it on their website
• If you’re more of a coffee person, think about the environmental impact of your caffeine hit. Look out for shade-grown coffee such as Bird & Wild which is grown in a way that’s more sympathetic to biodiversity
• The Ethical Consumer website is a great resource to help you choose all sorts of products  
• Remember to bring a reusable cup to the café instead of taking away a paper one.

Time for lunch!

• Avoid using cling-film or foil on your sandwiches. Instead, try reusable wrappings or containers such as beeswax wraps or even a sturdy takeaway tub
• Don’t be shy of bringing in your leftovers for lunch and avoiding food waste. Quicker and easier than making sandwiches, and you’ll be the envy of the common room. You can also save money and cut down on extra packaging by bringing food from home.

Reduce, reuse, recycle

In the Raised Faculty Building we can put recyclable items in the main waste bins, and they will be sorted after collection.

If you look at what ends up in your bin at home, is there a lot of packaging? Large Tesco stores now collect ‘soft’ plastic packaging, including crisp packets and wrap from fruit and veg. You might be surprised at how much you get through, and every little helps when it comes to avoiding waste going to landfill. The Co-op is also rolling out this facility across its stores. 

Did you know you can drop off your empty tablet blister packs at Superdrug for recycling?

Head to the RecycleNow website for guidance on what to do with all sorts of items, from clothing to phones to bubble wrap. We have collections for some things in the Faculty; for example, AA batteries from wireless keyboards and mice can be recycled in the container next to the photocopier opposite the IT Office (Room 136).

If you have any recycling top tips you’d like to share, please let us know! We look forward to seeing you soon.

The MMLL Green Team