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Going The Extra Mile – World Environment Day

Every year on June 6th, we celebrate World Environment Day, the United Nations day for encouraging worldwide awareness and action to protect our environment. The awareness day is promoted globally, whether it is by schools, media outlets, the government and businesses alike – each spreading the message of good environmental practices to support a healthy planet. Improve your environmental game, with a few small steps!

Good Waste Management is in the Bag!

A hot topic which is always highlighted on World Environment Day is the abundance of litter. Littered waste is clogging up our oceans, waterways, countryside and city centres. Whilst it is easy to blame the material, which sees plastics often being the ‘criminal’, it is important to remember that litter, no matter where it is found, did not get here on its own – it is a direct result of mismanaged waste handling. If a greater number of consumers focus on bettering waste management and responsible segregation, this would help reduce litter levels globally, so what’s the plan and how can we achieve this?

The use of waste sacks when it comes to waste collection has proven time and time again to help increase participation rates. Many local authorities offer their residents and businesses waste sacks to use in their recycling and domestic waste bins. This in turn has helped reduce contamination in bins, help improve participation rates, and seen litter levels drop. Levels also dramatically improve with more accessible bins in communal areas, particularly hot-spot litter areas such as beaches, city centres and the countryside. Having both dog and general waste bins at the public’s disposal will help encourage good, responsible waste management – and the use of waste liners will keep them clean, maintain and empty.

Caddy liners, bin liners, compostable liners all available from Cromwell

Utilise Compostable Materials

EN-certified compostable sacks and liners fully decompose within the normal 6-10 week composting cycle in industrial composting facilities, as do the waste captured within them. In terms of circularity, compostable bags break down into nutrient-rich materials that can be used as a fertilizer around the home to improve soil health and strengthen environmental ecosystems.

Think outside the box…

For one of our best selling bags, we have taken a slightly different approach in terms of improving its resource efficiency and switched up its packaging. For our black 90L CHSA refuse sacks, we have ditched the cardboard cartons they are contained in and switched them for a lighter option – polythene. These are our new poly-packed products, our new innovative approach to reducing packaging weight and maximising resources. The packaging is manufactured using recycled polythene, providing a durable, robust and lighter alternative to conventional packaging materials.

The newly developed ‘poly-packed‘ products are housed in packaging that weighs less than cardboard cartons. These new Poly-packed products are also more compact, allowing for more products to be stacked on a pallet and transported. Now with the new packaging, 130 poly-packs can be put onto a pallet, as opposed to the 90 cardboard cartons which currently fit on pallets. The total weight of the pallet overall is also dramatically reduced with poly-pack – weighing just over 10kg per pallet, whereas the card solution is over 27kg – in total, this reduces the CO2e related to Material Use and Freighting Goods by 74%. Make the switch today from cardboard to polypack, and reduce your carbon impact on your favourite Cromwell products.

All of these are small, yet make a huge difference to the planet, not just on World Environment Day – but every day. Talk to our team for advice on best practices and take sustainable steps with Cromwell to help achieve a cleaner, greener, more resourceful planet.