To celebrate all things sustainability, help share tips for smarter environmental thinking, and remind each other just how much our carbon impact matters, we’re inviting colleagues, friends of the business, and our peers in the wider industry to take part in our quickfire environmental Q&A.

Next up, it’s UNTHA UK’s sales manager, Ian Harvey…

Where do you fit into the environmental sector? Tell us a little bit about your role at UNTHA…

As a recently-appointed sales manager, my role gives me the opportunity to develop relationships with new and existing customers, and facilitate purchases of our fantastic shredders to companies all over the UK.

Complete the sentence – the UK is great at recycling…

…because we have a robust nationwide recycling programme for domestic waste — prior to the Household Waste Recycling Act coming into force in 2003, we did not. The policy is to reduce, reuse, and recycle all that we can, and only throw away as a last resort.

Which sector do you think could achieve significant environmental progress this year?

The automotive industry. A continued move to electric vehicles will help to reduce Co2 emissions — especially in urban areas where air quality poses a severe risk to children’s health.  

What do you wish you’d known about the environment, as a child?

That future generations will be relying on us to be sustainable. For too long, we lived our lives like no one is looking.  

What’s the single biggest threat to the environment, in your opinion?

The superpower nations that put development and profits ahead of environmental policies. There needs to be a better balance.

Share one tip to help people be ‘greener’, at work or at home:

Many people do a great job at waste separation in their own homes, and yet when at work, feel it’s right to put everything in the same bin! To counter this, perhaps everyone should take their daily waste and dispose of it in the same way that we have all adopted at home.  

Tell us an environmental statistic that you think people need to know:

A recent survey has reported that 75% of adults in Great Britain said they were worried about the impact of climate change. Adults who reported such concern were three times more likely to have made adjustments to their lifestyle.

What’s the best thing you’ve ever reused/upcycled?

During lockdown, my partner and I created a garden bar and bench from old wooden pallets.

If you were prime minister for the day, what’s the one thing you’d do to improve the UK’s sustainability agenda?

The construction industry — and its material waste — is a growing problem. I would instate a new government policy to abolish the ‘throw away’ culture in this sector and encourage a more circular approach to waste management. .

Complete the sentence – in 100 years’ time…

… I sincerely hope that our young, future generations can look back with thanks to humanity and forward to a wonderful life on earth.