Royal Mail spends more than £1m on elastic bands

[POSTMAN]

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Royal Mail is briefing its workers on the “importance of avoiding litter” after it emerged that posties got through £1million worth of rubber bands last year.

Figures uncovered through freedom of information requests show the public-owned company spent £1,058,152 on elastic bands last year.

The money is believed to have paid for a billion bands, which are used to both sort and deliver mail. A spokeswoman for the company said it aimed to recycle rubber bands, and was meantime continuing to urge its staff not to throw them away.

She said: “Royal Mail uses rubber bands because they are necessary when it comes to effective sorting and delivering the mail. Royal Mail does re-use many millions of rubber bands each year and we know the vast majority are recycled within delivery offices and mail centres.

“We regularly remind our postmen and women through official guidance, staff newsletters and at face-to-face team briefings of the importance of avoiding litter and the benefits of re-using bands. The rubber bands we use are designed to be more biodegradable than the normal rubber brown bands, rotting away naturally over time, and this is intended to help minimise any impact on the environment,” added the spokeswoman.

The company switched from using brown to red rubber bands in 2004 in order to make it easier for staff to spot the bands if they drop them.

Anti-litter group Keep Scotland Beautiful has contacted Royal Mail about the number of bands being dumped by postal workers.

The action follows calls from Keep Britain Tidy to prosecute posties.

Anyone caught dropping litter can receive an on-the-spot fine of £80, with the penalty rising to a maximum of £2,500 if the case goes to court.

Dickie Felton, from Keep Britain Tidy, said: “Elastic bands may not be as visually offensive as dog dirt or half-eaten pizza, but they are most definitely litter.

“Royal Mail staff who drop elastic bands could potentially face prosecution for littering. Is it really too much to ask them to put the rubber bands in their pocket as they do their daily rounds?

“There are also concerns that dropped bands could pose a danger to animals if swallowed.”

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[POSTMAN]

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recycling call to posties

Banding together to save money



WE KNOW that the Royal Mail costs money to run, but spending more than £1million on rubber bands for posties seems to be stretching it.

That is how much the company spent last year on buying bands to keep letters sorted correctly. No wonder bosses are trying to get the posties to bring them back for recycling, rather than cause litter problems by throwing them away after making deliveries.

When we consider the rising cost of stamps, no wonder we question the cost of rubber bands. It is high time it was addressed, in fact.

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[POSTMAN]

So,they gonna recycle this story 'every' year?

[Broxi51]

Maybe if they bought bands that lasted more than once. They keep breaking and pinging into me

[mazza111]

Totally agree broxie, Thankfully, I have carpal tunnel syndrome and have been left with no feeling in my hands. So the twanging doesn't bother me as much as it used to

I have had a customer complain about the amount of rubber bands dropped in one street. So went round and checked. There was about 12 rubber bands in a street that is half a duty long, 3 of which were snapped ones, and 3 weren't royal mail ones. Some people just got too much time on their hands. If a rubber band pings off my bundle and flies down the road, i sure as hell aint got time to go chasing it

[DGP1]

TBH £1million is a tiny amount when compared to the turnover I wonder how much they spend on paper just to print out useless sheet after sheet just to try and cover their backs.

[Lounge Lizard]

TBH £1million is a tiny amount when compared to the turnover I wonder how much they spend on paper just to print out useless sheet after sheet just to try and cover their backs.

Less than 2 pence for each resident of Britain.

[Lounge Lizard]

TBH £1million is a tiny amount when compared to the turnover I wonder how much they spend on paper just to print out useless sheet after sheet just to try and cover their backs.

Less than 2 pence for each resident of Britain.

and loose change compared to Crozier's bonus.

[PostieWithTheMostie!]

Why not just give all ELASTIC LACES, similiar to what i've seen students use for keeping course~work together.. surely these will last an absolute life time compared to these CRAP & USELESS Red bands, which could be kept and used everyday.. Or better still go back to using the Brown Bands as when i 1st started with RM they lasted months, upon months.

[Speedydelivery]

Why not issue the normal brown elastic bands that can be reused? Someone wrote into the courier magazine about this issue and got fobbed off that the red ones are fine but everyone knows they usually snap after being used once or twice.

[Postman Plodd]

One of the lads in our office got lumped with a £50 littering fine after dropping a laccy band on his walk. 2 shirt and ties collared him and wrote him up, as this happened he pointed out one of the locals letting his dog take a crap and not cleaning it up.
'We're only allowed to take one book out at a time.' Meaning there are separate books for dog fouling, littering and whatever other offences these swingeing desk-monkeys have an eye on, but one book must be more than heavy enough for 2 guys.

[Speedydelivery]

What would happen if he just denied it claiming the band was already lying there possibly dropped by another postie. if it went to court there would be no proof.

They do ping off and you can't be arsed looking for them when you see all the litter, dog shite etc.

[POSTMAN]

Someone on here mentioned a velcro type thing,was meant as a joke but.........

[capricorn]

How does the recycling of bands work

In our office any that fall on the floor are swept up and put in the bin, along with labels, strapex, cups etc.

[axeman]

And they spend loadsa millions on useless exec's the like of the now departed crazier