Talking rubbish
The Government wants to create a “zero waste economy” but that is clearly easier said than done. Even so, with the right approach waste can become a resource and recycling a positive benefit rather than a burden
There’s an old Yorkshire saying that “where there’s muck there’s brass (cash)”; the aphorism remains apt to this day for recognising that what is waste to some is a prime resource to others. And in that kind of situation, we’re talking business.
Okay, so there’s more to the issue of waste and recycling than a simple business transaction, but it remains true that waste represents either money wasted - or money earned. We might not all be in a position to capitalise on the earning potential of waste and recycling, but we can certainly make better use of our cash and make savings with the right approach.
“The reduction of general waste and an increase in recycling have become major talking points as businesses and council authorities look for alternatives to the increasingly high monetary and environmental cost of sending all their waste to landfill,” said David Palmer-Jones, chief executive of waste management firm SITA UK.
“[We] are developing solutions that treat waste as a resource and engage in protecting the environment by putting waste to good use. SITA UK does this by promoting a vision of a circular economy with Government ministers, industry bodies and the media to ensure messages are listened to, acted upon and the importance of the industry is respected.
“The circular economy identifies the role of waste management in collecting and treating waste so that it can either be recycled and used as a resource in the manufacture of new products or returned to the economic cycle in the form of recovered energy.”
Essentially, it’s a matter of resource management. That boils down, first of all, to making better use of supplies and raw materials so that less waste is generated. Secondly, it’s about implementing measures to segregate and handle generated waste so that what can be re-used is effectively sorted and collected with the minimum fuss.
“Our stores depot is the hub of our waste and recycling, where we segregate our waste into various recycling streams such as card and paper, metal, wood, plastic, hardcore and general waste,” said Eugene Wilson, director of property services at Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH). “Last year we invested in a cardboard baler; this enabled us to cancel our paper skip and gain a small income from the baledcardboard. We have also installed recycling facilities within our office bases for cardboard and paper, plastic and aluminium.”
Handling and disposing our rubbish, whether it’s just simply to chuck it away as in less enlightened days, or to exploit it as a re-usable resource, demands the appropriate resource. As RBH demonstrates above, or our own – burgeoning, it seems – waste bins in our back yards show, it begins at home, but if it isn’t going to stay there and become a hazard to health, it needs to be gathered and delivered to strategic hubs where it can be dealt with accordingly. Building the kind of infrastructure, and the associated economic processes, that make it easy to recycle – and indeed exploit waste as a sound business tactic – takes time, but it is one that the Government is keen to deliver.
“People want to do the right thing by reducing waste and recycling at home or out and about and we want to help them,” said Caroline Spelman, secretary of state for the environment.
“This means making sure communities are getting the collection services they want and not penalising hard-working households whomake minor mistakes by putting bins out on the wrong day or leaving a plastic tub in the wrong recycling box.”
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) launched its vision for a “zero waste economy” earlier this year. It followed the publication of the findings of a Government review of all aspects of waste policy. The review made a number of recommendations to underpin the delivery of this zero waste future. Among them:
• The Government intends to consult on introducing landfill restrictions on wood waste and to review the case for landfill bans on other materials such as metals, textiles and all bio-degradable waste
• It pledged to work with industry to drive innovation in the re-use and recycling of such materials before the implementation of any such ban
• It also wants to see an acceleration in recycling and the reduction of waste creation by providing incentives for householders, implementing ‘recyclingon- the-go’ schemes, and providing better services for businesses. It also wants to see “voluntary responsibility deals” that focus on the hospitality industry, paper, direct mail, textiles and construction waste
Gains are being made, according to Defra, and the waste management and recycling industry is currently worth some £11 billion, employs around 150,000 people, and is expected to grow by three or four per cent over the next few years. Since 2000, the amount of waste sent to landfill has been
halved, with household recycling rates now at 40 per cent and business rates at 50 per cent, but more remains to be done.
Some 45 million tonnes of business waste is still generated every year; as nation we still produce some 200 million tonnes every year and 44 million tonnes still ends up in landfill, where it contributes about three per cent of the UK greenhouse gas emissions. But for all the gains, we remain far behind Europe.
Many perceive the added processes involved with waste and recycling issues a minefield of additional business burdens – a cost as opposed to a benefit – and this can certainly hinder progress. However, like any business process it has its pros and cons but handled right and the cost-benefit ratio can be tipped the beneficial way. Much the same, although from a different perspective, can be said for households too.
“One of the biggest challenges organisations face is during the change-over period, when new recycling services are introduced in the form of changed collection days for municipal contracts, new recycling bins for example, or in some cases no desk bins for those working in offices,” said Palmer-Jones. “Education and communication play a significant role in ensuring that people understand the need for change. Getting this right is the key to unlocking what could potentially be considereda major inconvenience for some.
“It is the inconvenience that is widely considered to be one of the few negatives that are associated with recycling and one which is easily overcome if the correct tactics are used and services delivered with the customer in mind rather than the collector. The benefits of recycling are well known in terms of the environmental impact and financial savings that are made. Putting the pros and cons sideby- side allows people to see the overriding benefits recycling offers them compared to the traditional techniques used by the waste industry for a number of decades.”
There’s no inconvenience for the manufacturer Rixonway; it has firmly embraced the principles of waste minimisation and recycling not just as a matter of principle – but as an important efficiency measure that contributes to its bottom line.
“Rixonway sees waste reduction and recycling as an important element of the wider sustainability agenda equally as important as energy efficiency and carbon reduction,” said a spokesperson.
Indeed, it’s an aspect of sustainability that can contribute to those two aspects of living greener. The company has also anticipated some of the Government’s latest measures in its own sustainability policies, so it plainly demonstrates that the issue doesn’t have to mean an added burden to business.
“The Government plans to consult next year on introducing a landfill restriction on wood waste... [We] have already identified landfill as a costly and unsustainable option for businesses and have put procedures in place to ensure that 100 per cent of waste is recycled with non going to landfill,” the spokesperson added.
As a kitchen manufacturer supplying the social housing sector, Rixonway gets through a lot of wood. Waste wood is collected and fed into a “state-of-the-art” wood waste system that grinds it down to fine sawdust that is then used as a biomass fuel for power generation. It has also taken steps to reduce waste packaging to a minimum, is a member of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) scheme and only uses approved companies to dispose of the waste it cannot currently recycle.
“Sustainability is a key factor in recycling and reducing waste,” the spokesperson said.
“There is a worldwide shortage of timber and Rixonway feel it is imperative that companies introduce a greener ethos to ensure the cost of raw materials is kept down. [The company] has found that its green credentials have also improved its strength of tender... cementing in its mind that its green measures make perfect business sense as well as environmental sense.
“The environmental processes in place at Rixonway saves money for the company, does not require any additional time input and contributes towards the wider sustainability agenda. Rixonway has installed the appropriate systems to ensure that the same processes are taking place but just in a more efficient way.”
It’s not just manufacturers and waste management companies that feel the benefits of a more sustainable approach to waste; homeowners – especially the big institutional ones such as councils and social landlords – can also reap the benefits, with the right attitude and approach.
“By managing our waste effectively the organisation benefits directly by cutting waste and associated costs, ensuring compliance and meeting our environmental obligations,” RBH’s Wilson added. “The difficulties organisations are faced with can be engagement with employees, suppliers and customers; getting them to see the bigger picture about waste and its devastating environmental impact. Other challenges are costs: waste disposal by reputable licensed companies doesn’t come cheap, but in comparison to failure to comply with the ever-increasing waste legislation there is really only one option.”
As the old saying goes – waste not, want not.
