RMCtv : A rubber band thread : What does it take to reuse elastic bands effectively

[POSTMAN]

It sounds easy, doesn't it? Yet not all of our units are correctly reusing elastic bands, which isn't good for the environment.

In 2021, Royal Mail used over 319 million elastic bands. Large amounts of rubber is required to produce the bands, and they litter our local communities when accidentally dropped. Reusing elastic bands protects the environment and our image.

At Coventry City South Delivery Office, massive improvements have been made and controls have been put in place to minimise the use of bands. It's having the desired effect.

[jny2001]

Bring the string back

[Mick100]

And there's me taking the bands off the bundles and just throwing them all over the place seriously.

[Mr Rush]

Littering the local community? I'm amazed any make it that far. Seems they snap as soon as you put them round the bundle in the DO. I've got far more use out of the bigger elastic bands. Years, possibly.

[Jahpostie]

The small bands are not reusable. Once max was my experience. Then they mainly just snap at some point. Like everything in Royal Mail, cheapest possible. If the bands were better quality they could be reused.

[crimson king]

And there's me taking the bands off the bundles and just throwing them all over the place seriously.

I've often thought RM is missing a trick by not going into partnership with local councils and producing biodegradable flavoured bands.

We could then throw them all over the place with abandon and, if left they'd just biodegrade. But, think of the assistance and service we could provide for local communities...

Poison laced bands for areas with rat problems, vegetable flavoured for areas with child obesity issues or pot laced bands for areas with frequent police call outs for violence.

If these innovative ideas don't get me in the Courier or nominated for some happy clappy people award then, quite honestly, I don't know what will.

[FAB]

Remember those “red” rubber bands which lasted even less time!

[Sugar]

FFS they really do turn out some crapola...

I told my old DIM about a decade a go that if the bands came in bags of 100 and the OPG's had to sign for a bag and would only get another bag after an allotted time had passed it'd cut wastage dramatically and managers should periodically do walk checks to see if they found any littering the streets. Needless to say said DIM looked at me as if I'd got two heads, spent 5 minutes trying to compute what I had suggested then said "they'll never go for that" and walked off.

Thank heavens I'm away from such a stupid backwards company that can't see the wood for the trees.

[irishgerry]

I was working with a veteran postman last week who's seen it all and this subject came up. He said they have these campaigns every few years. He remembered one where the reason given not to litter our rubber bands was because they got tangled in hedgehogs and then the hedgehogs get stuck to things...