Almost 70% of companies in the kitchen and bathroom industry do not offer recycling facilities in the workplace, according to a survey by Franke.
Franke gauged the amount of plastic waste there is in the KBB industry, focusing on personal plastic use at work and at home.
Key parts of the survey were:
- 30% take plastic waste home to recycle;
- 34% throw plastic bottles in the general waste in the office;
- 76% own a reusable water bottle but 33% of them ‘don’t really use it much’;
- 51% of respondents buy at least one single-use plastic bottle a week;
- 68% of those who don’t use a reusable bottle say that they have either “not got into the habit”, or “would forget to take it out with them”;
- 2% won’t buy a reusable bottle as it is expensive.
Part of the survey was to see how workplaces, and to an extent kitchen and bathroom showrooms, could help in reducing plastic waste. Eighty-four per cent of workplaces do not offer a water refill station for the general public, but 56% of respondents said that they would be up for installing this type of facility.
Some respondents said they buy at least eight single-use plastic bottles a week, which would amount to at least 4,160 over 10 years. Franke said that having a reusable water bottle woild help lower this amount of waste.
Neil Clark, managing director at Franke UK (pictured), said: “The results are encouraging in terms of the number of respondents committed to reusable water bottles and recycling, but indicate that there is much scope for positive long-term behavioural change. As we have seen with the dramatic reduction in the use of supermarket plastic bags, small changes in behaviour patterns do add up to a big impact, and we believe the same can be true for single-use plastic bottles.”
As part of the campaign, customers who buy Franke, or sister-brand Carron Phoenix, taps that include filtration will receive two free reusable water bottles. Franke has also been running several giveaways of the water bottles though its social media channels.
The campaign Franke has been running its #RefillnotLandfillUK campaign since May and will continue to run until October.