With the world’s largest recyclers such as China and India, tightening waste regulations to restrict the entry of poor quality, non-recyclable waste, countries such as the UK that relied heavily on exporting waste had to respond very quickly. Across the UK and Europe we are seeing stricter waste regulation including the introduction of bans and taxes on low quality plastics.
Such changes to waste regulations have compelled businesses to move waste to the top of their agenda.
By not addressing waste, businesses risk failing to comply with the new and evolving waste regulations, incur additional charges & taxes due to poor waste management or the procurement of low quality plastics & packaging.
Office waste in the form of food and food containers, paper and some electronics is a massive contributor to waste produced. In general, for every 1,000 employees, an office generates 240 tonnes of waste in a year, which is the equivalent to 24 buses. If your offices have onsite catering operations, host events, procure a number of goods and services as well as regularly refresh the spaces then these numbers may be significantly higher.
Tackling waste is no easy feat. Waste data is often poor quality and difficult to attain. Many businesses have little understanding of how much or what waste they are generating, where it is going and what impact it is having on the environment. Multi-contracted sites are particularly challenging due to varying operating procedures across the different contractors. Moreover, regional variances in legal requirements, infrastructure and technology make the role-out of global strategies even more challenging.
Drive out all non-recyclable waste
Businesses should aim to achieve zero waste operations, by driving out all non-recyclable waste. This means that all avoidable waste is eliminated and that the rest can and is recycled. By achieving this, your business will benefit from the following:
Many businesses try to tackle waste by simply focusing on their own operations by ensuring recycling bins are available across the sites for staff to recycle their own waste. However, to effectively tackle operational waste efforts must go beyond your own operations and engage with vendors, partners and supply chain.
For example, it is important to stop low-quality non-recyclable materials entering your site in the first place. This starts by working with procurement and design teams, contractors and suppliers to review and improve the materials that are entering the site. Leaving your operations you will need to understand where your waste is actually going and whether better alternative diversion streams can be used. Tapping into circularity solutions such as sending your coffee ground waste to cosmetic companies to make new products or turning them into pellets for fuel are all exciting and innovative business opportunities.
Road to zero waste
To help your business on your zero-waste journey, we can help you establish a zero-waste programme. Our expert team will work alongside your teams to map the materials entering your site to understand what matters and what materials, products or services you need to tackle first. We will work with you to identify the best solution for the materials - what can be eliminated, what can be avoided, reused and recycled. Depending on your level of ambition we will develop a programme that will give you quick wins through to that will help your business stand-out.
Take a practical step in the transition to a circular business model and ensure your business improves its resource disposal habits. To find out how we can help.
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