The Daily Mail has instructed its reporters and editors to pick up rubbish in the community as part of the newspaper's "War on Plastic" campaign.
Management sent an email outlining the litter collection plan, telling staff to join a pickup in the local London area. Several reporters were unaware of the Mail's lunchtime exercise until it popped up automatically in their phones' work calendar.
"I’d like to ask for your support getting your teams together to join us on our own Northcliffe House pick up," read the email. "We’ll be meeting in the Atrium on the 1st Floor at 12pm, and heading towards Kensington Gardens, returning for 1pm.
"Please ask your teams to accept their calendar invitations to let us know they’ll be joining us, and I look forward to seeing you on Friday."
It's all part of the Mail's sponsoring of a weekend of picking up litter in local communities around the country, tying into the newspaper's grand "War on Plastic" campaign.
But some reporters were left grumbling to BuzzFeed News at the prospect of having to leave the newsroom at lunchtime to pick up rubbish, pointing out the use of non-reusable plastic around the office.
Sources have told BuzzFeed News there are still plastic cups used at water coolers and plastic cutlery in kitchens, which has led some to question whether the newspaper was being a tad hypocritical about its big, splashy PR campaign about plastic.
The Daily Mail declined to comment when asked about its staff litter pickup and some elements of the internal war on plastic at Northcliffe House.