Words by Amy Packham
By Tom Barwell-Best
A budding project in southwest England aims to reduce hospitality waste by 40% in the Falmouth area, through training and bespoke bins.
The brains behind Waste Warrior Solutions is eco warrior, Tegan Allen, a Geography graduate, who focused on sustainability and the environment during her studies.
She has always been connected to nature through surfing – and seen the damage to the environment caused by plastic – but it was when she went sailing reality struck.
Tegan found plastic from all over the world in obscure places as far as the Caribbean, which prompted her to set up her TikTok channel Enviro.tips. “I thought, I’ve got to go back and change it before the climate clock runs out," she says.
She did her dissertation on improving waste management systems in bars and restaurants, with a focus on changing human behaviour. “I realised there’s no training for staff in hospitality on environmental aspects, that are going to be beneficial to the environment in terms of waste management," she tells Smiley News.
From her research, she found the “short-term brain focus” was one of the key areas that needed to be addressed in hospitality’s fast-paced environment. With the help of a friend, designer Chris Humphrey, she created a set of custom-built bins that will make it easier for staff to engage with recycling.
“If you don’t have a bin that’s close to you or properly separated, then you’re not going to recycle properly when you’re rushing especially at peak service hours," she says.
Tegan is working with the help of a group of friends to launch the bins within the hospitality industry. She's actively searching for collaborators who share her altruistic and environmentally-focused motives.
If you'd like to support her or her work or get involved, get in touch on social media: @wastewarriorsolutions and @Enviro.tips.
