Yes, in a fantastic deal with Ocean Bottle* we’ve created a scheme to collect each year 450 kgs of ocean-bound plastic from the world’s most polluted rivers and waterways and ensure that it is not dumped into the sea. This is equivalent to around 40,000 single-use half-litre bottles. It will make us ‘plastic neutral’ for the year.
It’s all part of the Watermill’s endeavour to be even Greener, not only in reducing plastic waste, but also in cutting our carbon emissions. (We have already saved more than 35 tonnes of carbon dioxide through making our own electricity from the sun.)
Plastic waste is the scourge of the oceans and their wildlife, and a couple of years ago we made a start in reducing our ‘plastic footprint’ by no longer buying water in plastic bottles. Instead, we invested in a clever water dispenser which produces filtered water (at ambient temperature, cold or fizzy) for all our meals and for guests to use in the Ocean Bottle vacuum flasks we will loan them during their week with us. What’s more, every time people fill up, we can also collect a further 5 ocean-bound plastic bottles on their behalf! We’ll show you how when you arrive.
* Ocean Bottle, a British company, works worldwide to bring a ‘people-powered solution to the ocean plastic crisis.’ Through the sales of its recyclable insulated bottles, it raises money to pay people to collect plastic in coastal communities where plastic pollution is worst.
The company guarantees this collection through regulated waste-management tracking and verification. The plastic collected is recycled, upcycled or reprocessed and this is also monitored. Moreover, the company works with local collectors, who exchange plastic for money, helping them to be more secure financially and to gain access to social resources such as healthcare and education. Since launching in 2019 Ocean Bottle has prevented more than seven million kgs of ocean-bound plastic from reaching our seas. That’s equivalent to 636 million plastic bottles.
A rough estimate of the amount of plastic used at the Watermill during our creative week season is around 450kgs, or about 1.8 kgs per guest. Working with the Ocean Bottle company, we have done a deal both to buy their bottles and to pay into a scheme to ensure that all our plastic use is offset each year. In this way, our creative-course guests will know that they are plastic neutral during their weeks with us.
Currently eight million metric tonnes (8,000 million kgs) of plastic winds up in the oceans every year. Our contribution may be a drop in the ocean, but it’s important, nonetheless.