Following a suggestion from a member of Birmingham International Airport staff, CovCAN member Victor Paiva has been able to persuade managers of Burger King, Marks & Spencers, Bottega Prossecco Bar, M&S Food to Go, Factory Bar and Café Rittaza to abolish the issue of disposable cups to airport staff, and Café Rittaza are now also offering low-cost reusable cups to their customers.

This idea arose during meetings that Victor chairs with staff from several units to bring up their concerns involving a range of subjects. “People often fear to approach and challenge high-up bosses,” Victor says, “so being the spokesperson of numerous anonymous faces allowed me to lobby and change a number of things. From the introduction of special foods to allergy sufferers to a scheme where people can car share when commuting to work –  improvements in the workplace have taken place in a variety of ways.”

So where does Victor see the recycling project going in the future?

“My goal is to extend this initiative as widely as possible, having more businesses not only at Birmingham Airport to understand and tackle the bad habit of ignoring the consequences generated from their daily waste. As an activist, I plan to share the initiative with other companies at – but not limited to – Birmingham International Airport. For instance, Jaguar Land Rover has introduced a reduction of disposables to one of their factories based in Fen End. Despite not abolishing disposables (yet), catering manager Nicola Harper has confirmed a reduction of around 80% of disposables since the measure was introduced. There is usually a lot of resistance when these changes are implemented but over time people tend to go beyond the mere reduction of disposables. I can see that this has been the baby steps for many to become conscious of environmental issues and I will certainly continue to advocate for such positive changes in future.”

If you would like Victor to work in your business or enterprise either on recycling or on convening confidential staff consultation meetings, contact him at vi.zpaiva@gmail.com