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28th January 2021
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Our industry's views of plastic waste: Franke's Snapshot Survey results revealed
Franke's Snapshot Survey across the industry reveals commitment to reducing plastic waste, but that behavioural change is a much longer burn.
According to the Snapshot Survey conducted by Franke as part of its Refill not Landfill initiative, almost 70% of workplaces across the kitchen and bathroom industry do not currently offer a dedicated recycling facility for plastics. 30% of respondents reported taking their plastic waste home to recycle, with 34% throwing their plastic bottles in the general office waste.
Coinciding with the worldwide 'Plastic Free July' campaign, Franke shouted out across the kitchen and bathroom industry to gauge attitudes towards usage of single-use plastic bottles and their disposal.
The survey revealed that while 76% of respondents own a reusable water bottle, 33% of them 'don't really use it much'. And 51% of all respondents still buy at least one single-use plastic bottle a week, with 11% buying eight or more.
For those that do own a reusable water bottle, the most popular reasons are the environmental benefits, the cost savings over time and the convenience of water when it's needed. The main reason that respondents do not currently use one is behavioural, with 68% saying they have either "not got into the habit", or "would forget to take it out with them". Very few, just 2%, are put off by the cost of buying one.
Although the health benefits of staying hydrated are widely encouraged, and despite all respondents either owning a reusable water bottle or buying bottled water, the actual level of personal water consumption was surprisingly low. Over 80% of respondents stated drinking less than the recommended seven to eight glasses per day, with 30% only drinking one or two.
84% of workplaces do not currently offer a water refill station for the general public but 56% of respondents said they would consider offering this facility 'as a way to reduce plastic waste'. Some reasons cited for not offering this facility included location, perceived cost and that it was a 'management decision.'
Says Neil Clark (pictured), managing director at Franke UK:
"Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete our survey. The results are encouraging in terms of the number of respondents committed to reusable water bottles and recycling but indicate that there is much scope for positive long-term behavioural change.
"As we have seen with the dramatic reduction in the use of supermarket plastic bags, small changes in behaviour patterns do add up to a big impact, and we believe the same can be true for single-use plastic bottles.
"We hope our survey added to this topical debate, while also encouraging people to think about simple steps they can take to reduce plastic waste in their everyday lives, whether at work or at home.
"For example, each respondent buying at least eight single-use plastic bottles a week will use 4,160 over 10 years, all of which could be eliminated by switching to a refillable water flask instead. That's a powerful statistic and it's also realistic to achieve."
Franke launched its Refill not Landfill campaign on May 1st and it runs until 31st October. It is aimed at reducing the use of plastic water bottles in everyday life through a promotion run by its retail studio partners nationwide with consumers receiving two free water flasks on purchasing any Franke, or sister-brand Carron Phoenix, tap that includes filtration during this period. The campaign can be followed on Twitter using #RefillnotLandfillUK and the Franke website:
17th August 2018