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Green Actions

Kent Police Green Guardians

Officers and staff reducing the carbon footprint of Kent Police.

A photo of Canterbury and Dover Police Cadets lined up in high vis jackets giving the thumbs up with bags of collected litter at their feet

Kent Police Green Guardians are officers and staff who work to raise awareness and influence behaviour change to reduce the carbon footprint of Kent Police. Detective Inspector Fred McCormack currently leads a team of nearly 200 Green Guardians at Canterbury, Folkestone, Dover, Ashford and Margate Police Stations.

 

They operate in all roles and ranks. The team have created dedicated recycling points at each station to ensure waste is segregated correctly and contamination is minimised. They also collect hard to recycle items such as toothbrushes and crisp packets via Terracycle UK.

 

They have been nominated for a Green Can Award through the “Every Can Counts” scheme for the amount of aluminium cans they have collected for recycling. The team are at the forefront of electric car usage in Kent Police. They have also worked with a local resident’s association to plant a Ginkgo biloba tree outside Canterbury Police Station and have organised a litter pick with Canterbury and Dover Police Cadets.

A row of different recycling containers, including some for cans and batteries, in an office at Canterbury Police Station.

ECO COPS is a Facebook group started by DI Fred McCormack in February 2018 to support Green Guardians and the wider public. The purpose of the group is to conduct ‘case investigations’ on everyday activities in order to identify the best options currently available for the environment. To date ECO COPS have conducted 16 investigations covering subjects such as renewable energy, home composting, eco bricks and washing clothes. These investigations follow an evidence based approach, just like a real police investigation, and seek to join up the dots and close the loops. As of 01/04/19 ECO COPS had 1,207 members. Of this number 1053 are from the UK and the rest are from across the world. The work of ECO COPS was recognised on 06/12/18 when DI McCormack received a Kent Environment Champion award for Community Empowerment from Kent County Council.

A row of different recycling containers, including some for cans and batteries, in an office at Canterbury Police Station.

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