Plastic has become ubiquitous and so deeply embedded in our world that we may find it hard to imagine a world without it. Yet, the global impact of plastic produced using fossil fuels, combined with the incomprehensibly enormous amounts of plastic waste and pollution on the precious life of our world, requires action from us all.

The following summary by the United Nations Environment Programme provides a brief insight into some of the impacts of plastic pollution:  

“Every minute, the equivalent of one garbage truck of plastic is dumped into our ocean.  

Plastic pollution is a global problem. Approximately 7 billion of the 9.2 billion tonnes of plastic produced from 1950-2017 became plastic waste, ending up in landfills or dumped. 

Plastic pollution can alter habitats and natural processes, reducing ecosystems’ ability to adapt to climate change, directly affecting millions of people’s livelihoods, food production capabilities and social well-being.  

UNEP’s body of work demonstrates that the problem of plastic pollution doesn’t exist in a vacuum. The environmental, social, economic and health risks of plastics need to be assessed alongside other environmental stressors, like climate change, ecosystem degradation and resource use.” 

Construction is the second largest consumer of plastic after the packaging sector. According to the latest reports, the growth in plastic production is expected to triple by 2050. Waste is a serious concern, as we generate circa 50,000 tonnes of plastic packaging waste each year in the UK construction sector alone.  

Our mission at Changing Streams aims to help companies in the built environment design & build in planet-friendly ways which use less plastic and carbon, becoming more sustainably resilient. 

Collaboration Hub

One of the challenges facing the construction industry is the lack of access to knowledge in relation to the use and impact of plastic in construction. 

At Changing Streams, our education and engagement programme focuses on bringing plastic into the net zero carbon agenda and reducing plastic pollution.  

We aim to establish a membership-based platform, allowing members to share, collaborate, and explore partnerships. This powerful community will combine experiences and expertise with the opportunity to meet like-minded people, share knowledge, and discuss opportunities online and in person.

Events

We have developed a series of events to help our members reduce plastic. Join us to ensure that you can demonstrate a clear commitment to sustainability and protect the environment. 

Our webinar series ‘In Conversations with Changing Streams’ is where we bring together leading experts in construction, design, materials, packaging and the environment to discuss the impact of plastics and the latest alternative solutions. 

These events will allow our audience to gain insight, ask questions and learn more about the challenges we face and how together we can effect sustainable change. 

The programme of events will appear below. You can watch our previous online events here. 

To ensure that you do not miss out, please get in touch with us to be added to our events mailing list.