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 digital marketing executive, Kat Plant…

Where do you fit into the environmental sector? Tell us a little bit about your role at UNTHA…
As digital marketing executive, I oversee much of UNTHA UK’s online activity, while supporting with various design tasks and regularly delving into — and interpreting — the Microsoft Dynamics marketing hub.

Complete the sentence – the UK is great at recycling
……but could be so much greater!

Which sector do you think could achieve significant environmental progress this year?
I’ve been reading a lot about the proper disposal of solar panels once they’ve reached their end of life. There are so many components locked inside the products that require specialist handling. Shredding plays a crucial role in liberating these materials — that could otherwise be lost.
This year, I think there’ll be more progress in guiding decision-makers towards the most efficient and effective ways to handle such complex waste streams, in order to make the Government’s clean energy ambitions possible, and not just a pipedream.

What do you wish you’d known about the environment, as a child?
I was completely oblivious to the matter of sustainability as a child. To combat this becoming a recurring theme, I think there’s a real opportunity for schools to raise awareness and incorporate such topics into the curriculum — to increase understanding about the impact we all have on the environment around us.

What’s the single biggest threat to the environment, in your opinion?
Everyone thinking it’s someone else’s problem.

Share one tip to help people be ‘greener’, at work or at home:
British supermarkets are now introducing ‘take-back’ schemes, where you can return used soft plastics to stores for re-processing — one small change that makes a big difference.

Tell us an environmental statistic that you think people need to know:
Every day, around eight million pieces of plastic enter our oceans.

What’s the best thing you’ve ever reused/upcycled?
My kitchen table was made out of used wooden pallets — courtesy of my Dad!

If you were prime minister for the day, what’s the one thing you’d do to improve the UK’s sustainability agenda?
Making sure any unavoidable waste goes to people who could really benefit from it.

Complete the sentence – in 100 years’ time…
We will be utilising the technological advancements happening all over the world — and ensure these amazing tools are only ever used for good.