The BBC has announced a plan to remove single-use plastic from its operations by 2020.
Shutterstock.com
The BBC aim to scrap plastic cups and cutlery by the end of 2018, ending the use of around 2 million plastic cups used by visitors and staff across the BBC's sites a year. Already several BBC sites have begun to remove plastic cups from kitchens and replace with glasses.
By 2019 plastic containers will be removed from canteens, starting with a pilot in Salford this month, (February 2018) where the BBC will also trial a coffee cup recycling scheme.
BBC One’s series, Blue Planet II attracted global attention in highlighting the long-term, damaging impact single-use plastic is having on the world’s oceans and environment.
Tony Hall, BBC Director-General, says: “Like millions of people watching Blue Planet II, I was shocked to see the avoidable waste and harm created by single-use plastic. We all need to do our bit to tackle this problem, and I want the BBC to lead the way. Scrapping throwaway plastic cups and cutlery is the first step, and with our plan I hope we can have a BBC free of single-use plastic altogether.”
In the last Charter period, the BBC met targets to reduce its carbon footprint by a third and the volume of waste per person sent to landfill by 90 per cent.