To mark Global Recycling Day, theICEway team took to the streets of Welwyn Garden City for a community litter pick. Join us as we share our experience.
Integrity is part of theICEway's core values. It should go without saying that sticking to sustainable practices and looking after the environment are key components of integrity. We strongly believe in the importance of recycling and reducing waste, to protect our planet. The issue of plastic and waste in our oceans is a central concern for us, given our close collaboration with the cruise industry. That's why events like a community litter pick for Global Recycling Day, are so important for us. By getting stuck in with these sorts of projects, our aim is to shine a light on how littering is affecting our planet and hopefully to encourage other organisations to also get involved with making a positive change.
Our commitment to sustainability goes beyond just one day of litter picking. theICEway have partnered with CleanHub, an organisation dedicated to environmental sustainability. Their target is to prevent 50% of new ocean plastic by 2030. As part of this initiative, we have set a target to collect 2500kg of plastic over the next 12 months. Through CleanHub's innovative Track & Trace technology, we will be able to monitor and track our progress throughout the year. If you would like to find out more about our CleanHub collaboration, please visit https://www.cleanhub.com/impact-report/theiceway.
Organising the community litter pick event was a collaborative effort by all participants. A special thanks goes out to Carol at “Clean Up WGC” for supplying us with the litter pickers and bags. We initially considered splitting into two groups to cover separate routes, but ultimately opted against it as we found the enjoyment of chatting and working together to be an integral part of the experience.
Overall, the litter pick was a huge success we were amazed that we were able to fill 9 bags of litter in just a couple of hours. To make things interesting, we added a mini competition by seeing who could find the most unique piece of litter. We found so many weird and wacky things. The honourable mention was a Bop It, Handheld Audio game that was discovered by our CEO, Ian. However, it was Bertie who took the top step on the podium, finding a 2001, Snoop Dogg CD. This was a fun little way to engage everyone and make the litter pick even more exciting. Beside the friendly competition, the day provided an opportunity for team bonding and getting to know the community better. We had some nice conversations with some of the local residents who were very appreciative of our efforts.
By removing litter from the streets it makes the place cleaner and more pleasant for the general public. Litter not only spoils the aesthetic of the town but it also poses a threat to wildlife and the ecosystem. By correctly disposing of the litter we collected, we potentially prevented animals ingesting any harmful materials. Litter can also prevent plant growth by depriving vegetation of nutrients. For instance, if a plastic bag is blocking a plants access to sunlight, it will limit the growth of the plant.
We are planning on making more of a tradition out of this. Now that we're coming out of the winter season, we are intending on making this a regular activity that we do every month. We will continue to support CleanHub's efforts to preventing future plastics from reaching our ocean. At the time of writing this blog, we have cleaned up 500kg of plastic out of our 2500kg goal. We will continue to make regular updates on our socials of our progress.