A group of University College Isle of Man (UCM) students has spearheaded a green movement which has resulted in making UCM single use plastic free.
The idea for the campaign started once the students attended a government training session about how to reduce plastics as part of their Higher National Diploma course.
Nathan Coyle, Fiona Pendleton, Jamie Lord, Shannon Kaneen and Gemma Jackson styled themselves as ‘UCM Plastic Champions’ and, in consultation with UCM’s senior leadership team, set about working towards meeting their objective.
From the start of the autumn term, UCM has been free of single use plastic bottles, cutlery, cups and containers and instead food and drink are offered in vegware and cans, which can be recycled.
The UCM Plastic Champions are pleased with the initiatives they helped drive and are proud of the work they put in to achieve the changes; a spokesperson from the group said, “It’s been a big step for us, but we are really pleased to have been a part of something which will have a major impact on our future.”
Sue Dixon, manager of UCM’s Hospitality and Catering Department praised the students, “This is the first move in the direction of UCM becoming entirely plastic free. We have completely replaced plastics in areas where we have control and have regular discussions with suppliers about the way they manage their resources, in the hope that the supply chain will become more environmentally friendly.”
Sue went on to explain, “We have increased the number of water fountains within our campuses and all new UCM students are supplied with reusable plastic bottles during induction.”
Jo Pretty, UCM’s Principal, added her tribute to the students, “As with any organisation, we have become increasingly aware of our responsibility towards making use of renewable resources and have made a number of adjustments in the past few years. However, it is satisfying that our students have become actively involved in making the necessary changes and that they have worked so hard on this. I see this as the first step to many more collaborations in similar initiatives.”