YOU DON'T HAVE AMAZING IDEAS FOR NO REASON!⁠

It was 2017. It was another busy day at the Apple store, just like any other day. Only for me, since Australia and NZ announced they would not be recycling anymore (because we had to stop sending our recycling to China), I hadn’t been able to un-see every plastic water bottle and every coffee cup that passed by or was sitting on our lunch room table.⁠
⁠
I loved working with Apple, the company is making so many amazing efforts for the environment. They also take great care of their staff and would give us cool gifts from time to time.⁠
⁠
In the midst of that day I had a thought. We had a feedback line we could email whenever we had an idea of how to improve things in the company. I told my floor manager that I wanted to send feedback for our next staff gift to be a sustainable, reusable drink bottle or coffee cup. So that we could reduce the amount of coffee cups / plastic bottles that our staff had to use. He thought it was a great idea and let me take a break to go and write the email. I did this and then went about my day as usual.⁠
⁠
Later that day I was called into the store leaders office. I had that weird “being called to the principles office” kinda feeling, wondering if id done something wrong haha.⁠
⁠
Instead I was met with a smile and the news that he had received direct contact from Apple in Cupertino California about my feedback. They said they thought it was an incredible idea and it was being sent forward for approval. I was prepared that could be the last of it, not to get my hopes up but that it was incredible that it had gone that far.⁠
⁠
Months went by, I forgot about it. But then it was almost Christmas and we received word that our Christmas gifts from the company would be a beautiful, solid, reusable drink bottle / thermos suitable for hot or cold drinks! They arrived with the advice and request to use them as much as possible to help reduce the amount of plastic and coffee cups being used.⁠
⁠
From a thought - to an email - to solid reality in the hands of EVERY APPLE EMPLOYEE IN THE WORLD.

Did you know that even the plant based coffee cups have a plastic lining? Did you know that even if you put plastic in recycling bins they are still all heading for landfill? The more our landfills and oceans get filled with plastic the more toxins are seeping into our seafood, our soil, our water supplies. Not just killing our oceans but slowly killing us, poisoning us.

If you have a thought or idea of how to reduce plastic use, PLEASE SHARE IT! Your ideas and your voice can change things ❤️
⁠