Did you know that the average London adult buys more than three plastic water bottles every week - a startling 175 bottles every year per person. Let’s round this up, and in total some 7.7 billion plastic bottles are brought across the UK each year, resulting in substantial amounts of single-use plastic waste.
Like any business, we are aware of the impact our day-to-day lifestyles have on the planet. Not just from running a business, but also how our colleagues and employees act both inside and outside of work to benefit the environment. We want to make sure that our company values are in line with the message we deliver to our customers as well as making sure our staff are following their best lifestyle possible.
Throughout August we set our colleagues the challenge of using less plastic and to also make use of their Tempo Bamboo Tea Infuser Bottles to reduce their single-use plastic usage, explore new ways to keep hydrated whilst also seeing if having a reusable bottle helped change their view on how much waste they potentially create on a day-to-day basis.
We caught up with the team to see how they adapted to the monthly challenge and to see whether the task has encouraged them to make any lifestyle choices when it comes to their relationship with single-use goods.
May Gem
Like many of us taking on the challenge, my main aim was to up my hydration game as I do not drink as much as I should. I started tracking my progress by seeing how many bottles I can drink a day, and then comparing this to how much I usually consume before August. I enjoy drinking water and tea, but I’m not the best for drinking close enough to the recommended daily allowance. I wanted to find alternative ways to hydrate myself so I started adding various things into my infuser. I like having jasmine green tea, honey and lemon on the dreich days and to help with keeping my immune system up. I’ve mainly been drinking water but occasionally I like to add in some lemon to my water as that’s known to be good for detoxing your body! I use the infuser basket with the bottle to brew some jasmine tea also when it’s a cold day.
Liam
My main challenge was to incorporate more vegetables and herbs into my diet, I noticed that the herbs I have been buying are packaged in plastic and can go off, so I began freezing them to reduce waste. I am also looking to blend the infused herbs I use in my infuser as it will have absorbed the tea into it and add it to my smoothie to make full use of it.
My next step is to grow some of the herbs which I will aim to use on a regular basis. I have been reading up on more natural remedies and herbs so it has motivated me to incorporate it into my life. Now I just need to incorporate it into my routine until it becomes habit.
Jerrica
I tend to forget easily what I have and haven’t drunk throughout the day, but having my bottle with me 24/7 has been a great incentive to hydrate myself. I started the challenge, aiming to drink 3 whole bottles a day, which works out as the average I’m recommended to have, so anything on top of that has been a bonus! I’ve been experimenting with different ways to use my bottle, as the bottle can hold cold or hot drinks, I started making some on-the-go teas. I like to add a slice of fresh ginger and a wedge of lemon with Jasmine Green tea - I usually squeeze the lemon juice in my salads first, then I throw the rest of the lemon in my bottle so it's not going to waste!
Lina
I’ve never considered keeping a count of what I drink through the day, but this month I decided to keep track on the My Fitness Pal app as there is a section to log your water intake. I've noticed a big change in my energy levels, I don't feel as tired throughout the day and by drinking more water I've noticed I've not felt the need to snack as much. The challenge has definitely opened my eyes to how easy it is to purchase single use plastic, and how easily I can make a few changes to my lifestyle to not only benefit the environment, but also my health.
Sarah
If there is one thing I can take away from this month, it's that setting a challenge like this one has made me realise how much single used plastic I used beforehand. I’ve managed to cut down on my plastic use, massively and produce far less waste both at home and when I'm out and about. The challenge was a great chance to track how much I’m drinking daily, whether it be water both plain and infused with fruit or tea and coffee. I’m looking forward to carrying over my new habits into September and seeing how I can continue to make a difference in my conscious actions.
CJ
I set myself a personal goal of drinking a minimum of 1600ml of water a day. I consume far too many fizzy drinks and I want to swap back to introducing less sugar and more tea and water into my diet. I started using a health app to track how much water I drink daily which has been great to look at the month as an overview and see progress! My go-to drink in August has been jasmine loose leaf tea or peach black loose leaf tea. I also started experimenting with fresh mint leaves and slices of lime in my iced jasmine tea, it's super refreshing and a great way to still give me the flavour and fruitiness of fizzy drinks, with more health benefits and nutrients! I’m looking forward to exploring new types of teas and making sure I stick to more water and tea and don’t end up back on the daily fizzy drinks!
Donna
The Tempo challenge was a great stepping stone for me to task myself to be more conscious in my choices both physically and mentally. I wanted to push myself to drink more water, but to also make 10k steps a day. These two challenges paired so well together as I wear a FitBit which has a feature to log steps as well as water intake. My Tempo Infuser Bottle has been great for both hot drinks and cold drinks. I like being on the go with hot tea and it was brilliant for my first trip back to the hairdressers as they cannot offer drinks due to COVID, it's been a handy little addition to my everyday lifestyle as well as challenging me to be more aware of what I’m consuming daily.
Lauren
I’m terrible for constantly picking squash or a can of fizzy drink when it comes to being thirsty. Since ditching the diluting juice this month I’ve noticed not just an improvement on my well-being, but also my skin! I’ve also started brewing Jasmine tea at home as I’m not a big hot beverage drinker, but adding in fruit and being able to have a hot tea in my Tempo flask for a whole day has been an absolute treat. I am guilty of buying lots of plastic when I’m shopping or buying single-use bottles and despite being an avid recycler, I know I can do better. Having my bottle has encouraged me to drink more and it's handy to take out to workout sessions in the park. I hope this habit manifests into a new lifestyle!
Patrycja
I went abroad in August and it provided me with the perfect opportunity to put the challenge to good use. Being in a hot country, I noticed increased water consumption. I find whenever you go abroad, you’re always buying countless bottles of water due to the fact it’s not recommended to drink the tap water. I decided to buy one giant 5L bottle and top up my bottle each day and to also make use of local stalls and greengrocers by adding fresh fruits into my bottle each day. We’re very lucky living in Scotland with such fresh and tasty tap water, I usually end up spending a fortune abroad on prepackaged drinks!
What challenge would you like to see the team take on next? Leave your comments on our Facebook or Instagram page!