Royal Mail aims to cut rubber-band waste

London – Every year, Royal Mail plc uses around 338 tonnes of rubber bands to keep bundles of mail together, the recently privatised company said in its Corporate Responsibility Report for 2016–17.

But environmental concerns have prompted the UK postal service to launch a campaign to get employees to re-use its elastic bands, which have long littered pavements and pathways across the country.

“We recognise that the littering of elastic bands is a potential threat to wildlife and the environment and a cost to our business. During 2017–18, we will be running a high-profile campaign to encourage our people to re-use elastic bands,” said Royal Mail.

The report, however, added that the natural-rubber content of elastic bands means that they start to biodegrade in an outdoor environment within a year.

Last year, Royal Mail said it managed to reduce the number of elastic bands purchased by 8%. This reduction, it said, was achieved by employees “reusing elastic bands as much as possible.”

The company is also targeting its supply chain: requiring suppliers bidding for its elastic band contract to be a member of Sedex, a non-profit ethical auditing organisation.

“Membership of Sedex enables us to more closely track suppliers’ environmental, social and governance performance and undertake audits if necessary,” Royal Mail explained.