“Eight million tonnes of plastic end up in our oceans every year, killing and harming marine life.” WWF
Hey guys! My name is Maggie and I’ve just started working as the new student lead on the Reducing Plastic @ MDX campaign at MDX.
I first became passionate about reducing plastic waste during my travels to Tanzania in September as I was shocked by the sheer amount of litter on every street. Even on the beautiful beaches, I found wrappers, straws, bottles, cups and more.
It got me thinking about how much plastic waste I produce in my everyday life. In every supermarket, an extremely high percentage of goods are sold in plastic and when I thought about where this plastic would go, either into landfill or worse into the sea to get washed up onto the beaches of Tanzania, I understood how big of a problem single use plastic is.
That’s why I’m so excited to join the campaign at Middlesex. I’m sure you’ve seen the changes already taking place, such as the new water bottle refilling stations dotted around campus as well as the introduction of reusable coffee cups for sale at the campus cafes.
However, there is a lot more that we could all be doing. I want to ensure the whole MDX community adopt plastic reduction techniques into our daily lives. In order to do that, we need to start talking about the problem – what do you find difficult about trying not to use plastic in your daily life? Do you have any ideas about how the university could help to reduce plastic waste?
I hope to have regular meetings where those passionate about this campaign can come together to propose new ideas, promote current initiatives and creatively think how we can each contribute to join the fight against plastic pollution. After all, if we can eliminate single-use plastic from campus and from our own individual lives, that’s one giant step towards combating a huge global issue.
If you are interested in joining our campaign or just want some tips on how you can reduce your plastic footprint head over to our Facebook group here where you can find information on upcoming meetings and how to get involved. Feel free to also drop me an email at any time: M.J.Davies@mdx.ac.uk.
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