A university in Dagenham has become the first in the country to take measure towards helping the environment by removing the use of single-use plastics on campus.
Coventry University London (CU London) which is based in the former civic centre has taken the steps towards the battle to save the planet by removing plastic packaging from all on-site concession stands and stores.
The university, which forms part of the Coventry University Group, opened in September 2017.
Last year many other universities across the country announced their intentions to become plastic free but CU London appears to be the first in the country to actually achieve the feat.
In preparation for the changes, a team from the university analysed everything from water bottles and crisp packets sold at the on-site cafes to the marketing materials used in a bid to identify opportunities to remove single-use plastics.
CU London’s Operations manager Karen Wilton said: “A lot of time and effort has gone into this. There are so many things you take for granted at a site that requires single-use plastic. We have had to really take a step back and identify where we can have the biggest impact.
“It won’t be long before this is the norm across the country, but we wanted to push ahead, a crucial factor is engaging, educating and working collaboratively with staff and students so that they understand and support the changes we are making.
“We wanted to take a really proactive approach to this because as a relatively new university site, we need to be at the cutting edge. We have built relationships with local businesses to help with our recycling processes and thought very carefully about how to keep our carbon footprint as small as possible.”
CU London’s associate pro-vice-chancellor, Andy Ginn, added: “I am incredibly proud that we have taken this step so soon into our journey.
“It has taken a lot of work from a wide range of staff across a number of departments and the attention to detail has been incredible.”
