Two Herts businesses collected 10 sacks of discarded plastic in just half an hour as part of Plastic Free July.
Volunteers from Willmott Dixon's Hitchin office and Mitsubishi Electric's Hatfield base joined forces to pick up litter.
A team of 25 targeted the Dell on Hitchin's Windmill Hill and gathered more than 20kg of rubbish, including recyclables and non-recyclebles.
Natalie Sidey, social value manager at Willmott Dixon, said: "We know a lot of plastic is thrown away, but we were surprised just how much we picked up in a short time."
The volunteers also attended a session run by Tommie Eaton, founder of Hitchin-based BambuuBrush.
READ MORE
He spoke to the group about the global impact of plastic pollution, the circular economy and how everyone can take steps to protect the environment.
Natalie said: "It was very interesting to learn more about how we can all play a part in cutting plastic from our lives.
"Sustainability is at the very heart of what we do at Willmott Dixon and always has been.
"We are now three years into our latest Now or Never sustainability strategy that sets us ambitious targets to achieve by 2030.
"A better planet is one of the themes of our strategy."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here