In August our Environmental Sustainability Team hosted a post-screening discussion of The Story of Plastic film, followed by a Q&A on the University’s commitment to eliminating avoidable single-use plastics by 2022.

Following Plastic-free July, staff and students were invited to the free, virtual screening of The Story of Plastic, an award-winning documentary which explores the global plastic pollution crisis and exposes common myths about the plastics industry. Attendees received a link to view the 90-minute film at their leisure, two weeks before the post-screening discussion.

Joined by members of the University’s Single-use Plastic Action Group, the Q&A session highlighted the range of initiatives implemented across the University that will play a role in our 2022 commitment. This includes our plastic reduction in teaching laboratories, which has saved 37,000 pieces of plastic per year, through a ‘Plastic 6R’ Approach. This contributes to our current total of nearly 250,000 pieces of plastic eliminated from the University. Other initiatives include 35,000 single-use cups that avoided disposal from Food on Campus outlets in January and February this year, due to the 20p charge on takeaway cups. Many staff have also reported eliminating single-use plastic cups from their office water dispensers and other purchases. We hope to continue with our progress and share best practice across the University.

Learn more about The Story of Plastic here. Spanning three continents, the film also features interviews with experts and activists in the field, revealing the inequalities present within the plastic supply chain and educating viewers on the full lifecycle of plastic products.

To learn more about the University’s progress on eliminating avoidable single-use plastics by 2022, visit the Environmental Sustainability website.