WeWork has made repeated public promises to use "zero plastic" yet their offices are filled with single-use plastic cups for water and beer.

WeWork’s website claims that they have already introduced compostable cups, but we spoke to over 50 WeWork members across the UK and Ireland and almost everyone reported that plastic cups are in use at their WeWork location.

WeWork currently has over 250,000 global members across 21 countries. If each member uses just one cup per day, this means that over 3,500,000 plastic cups are being used at WeWork offices around the world each month.

The story doesn’t stop there. According to WeWork’s own growth estimates, they will have 765,000 members by the end of 2022. If WeWork practices go unchanged, more members means a lot more plastic. If they grow at this projected rate while relying on single-use materials, then by 2022 WeWorkers would use 153,000,000 plastic cups per year.

WeWork has managed to innovate and grow at an incredible pace. The company was founded at a single location in New York in 2008 under the name Green Desk, but they quickly shed their environmental focus and prioritised fast growth and low costs. Today WeWork has offices in 90 cities and is valued at over $16 billion - the 11th most valuable start-up in the world. We believe that if WeWork is serious about their commitment to zero plastic, they have the resources and logistical firepower to eliminate plastic cups from their workspaces in a matter of weeks.

Sign the petition to help make WeWork plastic free by the end of 2018.

If new companies with young, educated customers don't lead the way, then who will?

This campaign is being run by the #plasticpromises collaborative, a team of people working together to help businesses eliminate their plastic use.

*This is a very conservative estimate which is supported by the data collected when we surveyed over 50 London based WeWork members.

**Photos were taken at WeWork Aldgate Tower, WeWork Tower Bridge and WeWork Southbank Central April - June 2018.