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News
Plastic Action
At Horsfield’s, we have a strong commitment to minimising waste and are constantly reviewing our practices to manage the environmental impact of our business; a chance conversation with FEW provided an excellent opportunity to resolve a nagging issue in respect of single-use plastic drums.
We use high volumes of a product which is supplied in 20 litre plastic drums, and though we had explored the option of having the product supplied in larger reusable containers from which we could decant and re-fill the 20 litre drums, the manufacturer could not accommodate this request.
Given that the product we use is a non-harmfull and bio-degradable chemical which is safe for use in the catering industry, we wanted to find a way to re-use these drums rather than recycling them following just one single use… this is where FEW appeared to have a real-world solution.
Who are FEW?
Furniture for Education WorldwideFurniture for Education Worldwide (FEW) is a National Charity and was launched in London at the House of Commons in November 2008. The Charity’s aim is to send all the surplus and redundant furniture from school and office renovations here in the UK to some of the world’s poorest schools.
FEW trialled the usefulness of our drums by packing what they could into whatever available space they could find within a container destined for The Gambia. Upon arrival it was immediately clear that these drums would be in high demand by people who often have only one stand-pipe to supply their village with clean water. |
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Since the initial trial, Horsfield have sent many more of these plastic drums to help the people of remote villages collect and store drinking water, oil for lamps, fuel for generators, and whilst this does not eradicate the production of these plastic drums, it does extend their life beyond single-use into many years before they become a recycling or disposal issue. |