A new Report shows that against a background of environmental best practice, UK businesses still waste 310 million litres of water on a daily basis with office workers using as much as 35 litres of water per day, or three times more water than actually needed

The report, commissioned by Enviro-Fresh, a Rentokil Initial subsidiary, provides a snapshot of reasons behind water wastage. The report  shows  that eight out of ten workers recycle at home but this drops to  just six out of ten at work.  Only 8% of respondents have ever  considered using the short flush facility on toilets at work, to  help save water.

The research revealed that one of the biggest areas of workplace  environmental apathy is in water wastage. In the UK, over 310[1]  million litres of water is wasted by offices every day with  individual workers wasting an average 35 litres each day, 86% of  which is a direct result of flushing toilets. However, workers  told researchers they are twice as likely to use the short flush  facility on toilets at home than at work.

The study does show that opportunities exist for management to  take advantage of worker ‘green’ goodwill – nine out of ten  employees say they want to do more to reduce the impact of their  behaviour at work and a third would like to receive more  information from their employers on how this can be done.

Mark Gillespie, Managing Director, Enviro-Fresh, comments: “This  research shows that employees would like to see more guidance on  how they can do their bit for the environment at work, and it’s  not just big things that have an impact – even small steps like  installing adjustable flow toilets in washrooms can significantly  reduce water wastage. British businesses have caught onto the   environmental and economic benefits of things like recycling, but  many are continuing to pour their hard earned profits down the  drain. The average business is still wasting three times more  water than it actually needs.”

“Compounding the lack of action is the lack of awareness about  workplace issues affecting the environment, and specifically water  wastage,” continued Gillespie.

When asked how much water the average UK office wastes each year, three quarters drastically underestimated the amount and over half   were amazed when told the correct figure was 310 million litres.