Polka Theatre Environmental Policy
- Taking care of the environment in which we live is an increasing concern for many people and Polka Theatre has recognised this concern by adopting an environmental policy to improve the quality of the environment which we all share and have a responsibility for. Our aim is to encourage good environmental practice which educates the children who visit our building and future generations to come.
- We endeavour to minimise our impact on the environment wherever this is practical and follow the simple principle: to reduce, reuse and recycle
- We have introduced a waste minimisation programme to reduce the volume of waste sent to landfill. Wherever possible we buy environmentally friendly and sustainable products and material and reuse or donate materials using Freecycle. Currently we recycle glass, paper, cardboard, plastic, cans, batteries, plastic carrier bags and ink jet cartridges. We also compost garden and food waste from our staff and cafe which is then reused in our own garden.
- We hold one-off collections for employees to bring in unwanted clothes and small household items for a staff swap; all unwanted materials go to a local charity. This reduces personal waste that might end up in the landfill. We also aim to have more community events that raise awareness of reusing resources like book and clothing swaps.
- In 2007 we began using low energy and energy saving light bulbs. We have reduced our energy usage by 20% by using energy saving bulbs and keeping lights switched off. We have reduced our water consumption by installing water saving devices in the boys’ toilets and using a water butt for our garden watering.
- Longer term plans are to insulate areas of the building, switch to more energy saving devices such as light timers, and introduce alternative sources of power such as solar panels.
- In 2010 we applied for the Green Tourism for London award and awaiting a potential Silver grading. We have also been accepted as one of the first theatres’s to be part of Ecovenue through The Theatres Trust which aims to improve environmental performance in small to medium sized theatres across Greater London.
If you have any comments or suggestions to improve our environmental standards please let a member of staff know.
