July 6, 2022, by sustainablenottingham

Plastic Free at Sutton B

For Plastic Free July, we are sharing some of the great initiatives the Sutton Bonington campus Retail Team are running in the Costcutter Shop and Mulberry Café. They have been busy encouraging customers to reduce their single-use plastic consumption by offering refillable and reusable products. 

Refill

Over the past few years, the Costcutter shop has sold several refillable options. This has now extended to cleaning products (such as laundry and washing up liquid), toiletries (such as shampoo and conditioner), and food items (such as pasta and rice). These are all used by staff, students as well as by people that live locally. 

Bring your own containers and fill your cupboards! Paper bags for food are also available. 

Laundry liquid and washing up liquid refill station

Shower gel, shampoo and conditioner refill station

Rice, lentils and pasta refill station

The shop also has a refillable milk station used during term time. 

Zero-waste items, such as milk and food, are cheaper than their packaged counterparts, so customers can save money as well as reducing their packaging and plastic consumption.

Reuse

In addition to selling refills, the shop also sells reusable items, e.g. water bottles, lunch boxes and cutlery, as well as plastic-free alternatives such as wooden toothbrushes, beeswax kitchen wraps and natural loofah cleaning pads. 

The Latte Levy is in full effect over in Mulberry Café, as it is across all campuses. This is a 20p charge on disposable takeaway cups and cutlery. It aims to dissuade customers from using plastic disposables and instead bring their own reusable cups. However, if you’re caught out, travel cups and cutlery sets can be bought in the café itself. 

Reusable cups and cutlery sets available from Mulberry Café.

Carrier bags have been removed from both the shop and café. Instead customers can use one of the empty repurposed cardboard boxes provided, which have come from the shop and café’s deliveries. Usually supermarkets allow you to do this too if you forget to take your shopping bag with you. 

Cardboard boxes are great for carrying your plastic-free shopping home

Repurpose

The used coffee grounds from Mulberry Café are also free for anyone to take. Coffee grounds are rich in nutrients so are a great addition to any garden. Add them to your compost, or sprinkle directly onto the soil as a fertilizer. 

Have any suggestions for how we can reduce plastics and disposables across our campuses? Submit your feedback here! 

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Google+
• Share on LinkedIn