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The Leaf - Issue 14 - February 2023 - Our Commitment to Minimise Single Use Plastic

Single use plastic (SuP) are products made from plastic that can only be used once then thrown away. Waste plastic can have significant global environmental effects as well as on our own personal health. Products made of SuP are more likely to end up in our oceans and in the food chain as ‘micro plastics’.

Drayton’s commitment

At Drayton we embrace the values of being an Impact Company when it comes to our environmental, social and governance (ESG) responsibilities and we have a dedicated team who are constantly looking for ways to eliminate SuP from our manufacturing processes and sourcing sustainable alternatives.

Reducing, reusing, and recycling single use plastics wherever possible can contribute to:

  • Less plastic ending up in landfill
  • Less plastic dumped in our seas resulting in less damage to marine life
  • Less litter in our streets and beauty spots
  • Reduced greenhouse gas emissions from SuP manufacture

Polythene bags

Since 2018 we’ve been making big changes to eliminate SuP from our factory and to date have eliminated 7.2 tonnes from our supply manufacturing and products.

In March, starting with our top 10 products, we will move from using plastic packaing bags to bamboo bags with hydroplast ink, both fully composable and eco-friendly alternatives. This alone will remove 872K of polythene bags.  A huge achievement in our fight to be plastic free.

 

 

Clamshell packaging

Historically, one of the heaviest plastic contributors has been clamshell packaging.  These clear plastic cases are supplied to a number of our customers and make up over 2 tonnes of our SuP per year.  We’ve been working hard to try and find alternative packaging to eliminate the need for these cases and have now successfully moved over to cardboard boxes.  This eco-friendly and recyclable alternative has been fully embraced by our customers to help them in their journey to Net Zero and reducing their carbon footprint.

Net Zero by 2025

Eliminating SuP is just one part of our Net Zero by 2025 journey, we’re still working hard to be more sustainable when it comes to our energy, recycling, resources, manufacturing processes and our biodiversity. Learn more about our journey to Net Zero and other sustainability projects at at Wiser about Sustainability