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Waste as a wasted opportunity

Designing a testing Talking Rubbish Quiz

The ask

Upskill 100+ members across 4 of the Workspace sites to better understand waste in the business context.

The challenge

Do it in about 3mins per person! 

The result

A Talking Rubbish Quiz where players played for pride as well as either a Tony’s Chocolonely or Tribe Flapjack (and sometimes both)

The bonus

Anyone with a reusable cup, either one they own or one from the kitchen got treated to a free drink. 

We also used fruit as a live poll where Workspace members had to vote with an apple if they brought their reusable cup, or an orange if they didn’t. It was a visual, waste-free way to track behaviour in real time. And yes, every single piece of fruit was eaten afterwards.

What did businesses know

In what proved to be the most competitive ten questions they’d faced all week and across the board, members scored an average of 5/10 and found the answers interesting, humbling, and definitely eye-opening.

The questions that stumped people most were the ones about money and the law. 

We’ll say this much: the potential fine for getting your waste separation wrong under the UK’s new Simpler Recycling regulations is higher than everyone guessed and the relationship between food waste and aviation emissions might just make you look at your lunch differently. 

Waste as a wasted opportunity

From fashion brands and food & beverage businesses to architects and film producers, the companies across the Workspace buildings are as varied as they are interesting. Some serve local markets with local suppliers; others operate internationally with thousands of suppliers across the world. Many have impact at their core, while others hadn’t given it much thought before. What was brilliant was seeing everyone come together to learn about something as universal as what happens to the waste we create every day.

Waste is often invisible, and most businesses are sitting on untapped value because of it. Whether it’s wasted materials, energy, or food, managing waste well isn’t just about doing the right thing. It’s about protecting our margins, our supply chain, and our reputation with the clients and investors who are increasingly asking how we operate, not just what we sell.

Building the infrastructure so we can all do our bit.

At Workspace, responsible business isn’t a campaign. It’s how they are built. The food waste from their kitchens becomes nutrient-rich compost. Their general waste generates energy. They send zero waste to landfill across all their buildings. They are not just a place to work. They are a home for businesses designed around the idea that how you operate matters as much as what you do.

But even good waste infrastructure isn’t enough because handling waste is a collective business effort which depends on colleagues. Dedicated bins are only as good as what goes in them.

This is how we help

Designing the quiz was a reminder of something we come back to again and again: the fastest way to shift behaviour is to make the business case personal and specific. That’s the principle behind everything we do, whether we’re designing a two-minute pop-up or a twelve-month sustainability roadmap.

We offer any business, of any size, in any sector a tech platform with a dedicated sustainability exec on hand to support, for a monthly fee. It’s how we help turn vague sustainability aspirations into a practical business advantage, one that helps win new contracts, attract and retain talent, and secure funding.

Our starting point is simple: sustainability starts with what you’re already managing. Most businesses already have the data, the processes, and the habits in place. They just haven’t connected the dots yet, let alone how best to share that story.

Not sure where to begin? FuturePlus have built a free course called ESG Unfiltered, designed specifically for people who need clarity fast. No jargon, no theory, just a practical framework you can apply straight away. It takes under an hour and comes with 15+ templates and tools to get you moving. Access it free here.

And when you’re ready to go further, our platform and advisory service helps businesses measure their impact, build a roadmap, and become IMPACT CERTIFIED, starting from £95 per month.

Remember: what goes around, stays around. Reuse where you can, recycle when you can’t.

Thank you to the brilliant baristas who managed big coffee queues, to Workspace and their Centre Managers for designing a month-long campaign and to all the brilliant businesses who took a moment out of their day to get involved.