A SUCCESSFUL Cumbrian firm is set to save its staff from buying nearly 10,000 disposable plastic water bottles every year after reinforcing its commitment to going green.
Bosses at AJM Decorating, in Kendal, have issued every one of their 40-strong team with reusable water bottles in a bid to become as environmentally friendly as possible.
The move will save 200 single use plastic bottles every week from manufacture.
AJM director Adrian Morris explained the company was always looking for ways to become as environmentally sustainable as possible.
“Our teams work incredibly hard all day and were taking bottles of water with them as a matter of course,” he said.
“For an individual, this is just one or two bottles. But we realised that as a team we are clearly using a significant number, particularly over a year or longer.
“We’ve always recycled as much as possible. However, we know that buying less single use plastic in the first place is far better for the planet and all concerned.”
AJM Decorating operates across Cumbria, Lancashire, North Yorkshire and southern Scotland, completing both commercial and domestic projects.
Each employee has been issued with a branded stainless-steel bottle from Healthy Human – a brand that can keep water cool for 24 hours.
Staff simply refill them every morning and throughout the day.
Around 50 average, empty 500ml plastic water bottles weigh 1lb and can take 500 years to decompose.
Recycling just one plastic bottle can save enough energy to power a 60W light bulb for six hours.
But, using a refillable container negates the need for plastic manufacture in the first place.
Adrian Morris added: “As a business, we do what we can to be as green as possible.
“It’s a responsibility we take very seriously. No-one who has seen images of plastic floating in the ocean or washed up on beaches can fail to be moved to do all they can to reduce its use.
“Switching to high quality refillable bottles required some investment, but we considered it absolutely worthwhile.
“Our teams were also keen to ditch the plastic and are happily taking their refillable bottles out with them every day.”
