I spent a very enjoyable hour yesterday morning picking litter as part of a Surfers against Sewage event. I find litter picking extremely therapeutic and I it gives me a rather interesting insight into waste. For example, for all the talk of a latte-levy on disposable cups, I find several times more fast food cups being chucked away in practice, so I hope any tax would cover all forms of disposable beverage container and not just the alliteratively attractive (did you see what I did there?)

Joining us yesterday was a team from the local Balfour Beatty office volunteering as a CSR activity. I like this idea for several reasons: it’s an important task, it’s outdoors, it’s fun, there’s a team building element, but most importantly, it has a really visceral impact on the individual when it comes to waste management, litter, plastic use etc. You certainly can’t replicate that experience with a Powerpoint presentation.

So if you want to soften up your colleagues for a bit of Sustainability engagement, why not get the litter pickers out?