University makes a positive difference to the planet

Staff and students at Cranfield University join ‘Small Action Big Impact’ campaign
 
Flying the flag for Bedfordshire, staff and students at Cranfield University have joined the initiative that will stop 98,700 disposable plastic bottles being used over the next 12 months.  
 
Staff and students pledged to make a number of changes to their everyday behaviour around waste and recycling to help the environment and improve sustainability. This included not to use any plastic bags, bottles or straws.

Professor Jim Harris, Chair of Environmental Technology and students pledging at Cranfield University.
 
The pledging took place on the university campus, with people taking time out of their day to read recycling information, learn where waste goes and sustainability; all provided by Cawleys Waste Management. It’s no surprise busy staff and students were captured by the initiative, with only 9 per cent of all plastic waste in the world being recycled, people want to start doing something about it.
 
Gareth Ellis, Energy and Environment Manager, commented:
 
“Cawleys ‘Small Action Big Impact’ campaign has been enthusiastically embraced by the staff and students at Cranfield University. The initiative is just one of the ways Cranfield is engaging staff and students in environmental issues. In October the university put in place its own green campaign to encourage the use of refillable bottles across campus, rather than using single-use plastic.”
 
This initiative adopted by Cranfield University is part of a wider campaign, ‘Small Action Big Impact’, a venture by Cawleys Waste Management, based in Luton. The year-long project aims to encourage businesses and trusts across the south east to all make small changes to their daily lives which, added together, can make a big different to the environment.
 
Because staff at the university pledged to make these changes, Cranfield now has a chance to win an Engagement Roadshow from Cawleys. It is this sort of activity, where people can learn more about recycling and how to minimise the impact of their actions on the environment, which makes a difference.  Anyone can take part and sign up at www.smallactionbigimpact.com
 
Anna Cawley, Director of Customer Service at Cawleys, said:
 
“Many people feel that their individual actions are just a drop in the ocean in the battle against plastic waste. Cawleys ‘Small Action Big Impact’ campaign aims to show that if every person makes a small sustainable change, collectively we can make a large impact to the environment.”
 
Marcus Gover, WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) CEO, said: 
 
“We welcome Cawleys ‘Small Action Big Impact’ campaign to encourage more recycling. We all have to do our bit and it’s only by working together that we can collectively make a difference and protect our environment.”
 
*Calculation based on total number of SmallActionBigImpact plastic bottle pledges from 1^st Oct – 2^nd Nov’18, average number of plastic bottles used per person per year 150: source www.parliament.uk
 
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmenvaud/339/33905.htm
 
www.cranfield.ac.uk/