As we move into a new and hopefully more positive year for the population, one thing is for certain – the environment will continue to feature heavily in the agenda of businesses and the general public alike. With people increasingly interested in measures to improve their sustainability, 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 Zoe Paskin, accounts coordinator at UNTHA UK…

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

Here at UNTHA we’re all about working towards a more sustainable environment with our machines. And this commitment to being green runs much deeper throughout elements of the business. When it comes to my role, I try to do as much of my role as possible electronically, by not printing unnecessarily and emailing documentation etc, so that even the simplest daily practices are having minimal impact on the environment.

Complete the sentence – the UK is great at recycling…

We’re quite rubbish (excuse the pun) aren’t we? Okay we’re not, in truth we’ve got long-established practices in place when it comes to recycling glass and cans for instance which shows that in some respects, we’ve had a ‘green’ mindset for some time. Of course, over the years we’ve got better with other materials too, and there are certainly a number of innovators in our own industry driving forward change on an ongoing basis, however as a nation I think we could still do better – education is key.

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

Supermarkets and food retail. I’m particularly astonished by the amount of packaging used to wrap food in – plastic wrap, plastic trays, plastic bags and boxes! Packaging wrapped in packaging really annoys me!

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

Just how many recycling possibilities exist, especially with a collective effort. I also love that literally anything can be shredded – it’s amazing what our machines can do!

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

Humans (and landfill).

Share 1 tip to help people be ‘greener’, at work or at home:

Recycle as much as you can at home, use the local authority recycling schemes, and re-use clothing or pass it on.

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

Only 27% of batteries are recycled in the UK, resulting in more than 20,000 tonnes of battery waste going straight into landfill.

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

I’m personally lacking in creativity, however a great idea from a friend of mine was to make a blanket out of old babygrow’s and other clothing.

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

Encourage cleaner, greener air by banning all but electric public transport in towns and city centres.

Complete the sentence – in 100 years’ time…

I’d like to see the whole world on board – people, businesses, governments, towns, cities, and counties – all doing everything they can to reverse the effects of global warming.