Corporate Waste Management

Exploding the Myths – Harvey Laud, Director

Waste management

Why would you want to manage that?

Waste management – 21st century oxymoron

Waste (also known as rubbish, trash, refuse, garbage, junk and litter) is a negative term for unwanted materials.

Noun, adjective verb (used with object) 1. to consume, spend, or employ uselessly or without

adequate return; use to no avail or profit; squander:

2. to fail or neglect to use:3. to destroy or consume gradually; wear away: 4. to wear down or reduce in bodily substance, 5. to destroy, devastate, or ruinWhy would you want to manage that?

“Simple …”

The drivers

Commercial waste and duty of care lawBusinesses are required by law to take all reasonable steps to keep waste safe.  If someone else processes it for you they need to be authorised to collect, transport, recycle or dispose of it safely. If you break this law, you can be fined an unlimited amount, as waste collection and disposal is a highly regulated industry.

The cost of commercial waste collection and disposalWaste collection costs are not included in business rates due to the amount, type and variation of waste generated by businesses. Each business pays for its waste on the basis of the quantity/weight produced.

In short

You are obliged to pay for the collection of waste

It is an opportunity to preserve the environment for future generations

It is a legal requirement

And of course…

- Confucius

“The superior man seeks what is right; the inferior

one, what is profitable.”

Historically, the dichotomy has been that doing

the right thing and doing what is most

profitable may have been mutually exclusive.

Not anymore!

- David Morris of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance

“The case for recycling is strong. The bottom line is clear. Recycling

requires a trivial amount of our time.”

- David Morris of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance

“Recycling saves money, reduces pollution and creates

more jobs than landfilling or incineration.”

- David Morris of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance

“Recycling reduces our need to dump our

garbage in someone else’s backyard.”

Why do businesses in the UK find it such a challenge?

Reason #1: [expertise]

They don’t understand the ‘black art’ that is involved

Reason #2: [poor planning]

They take the wrong approach

Let me explain

The UK waste landscape today£10b worth of food is

thrown away every year (6.7m tonnes)

UK households throw away 31m tonnes of material each

year

We use more than 12.5 million tonnes of paper and

card every year

We manufacture and use twenty times more plastic today than we did in the

1960's.

If the UK recycled all the aluminium cans there

would be 14m less bins

13 billion plastic carrier bags are still used every

year

The average UK citizen uses 200kg of paper a year

The average UK citizen throws away their own

weight of material every 7 weeks

Glass thrown away into landfill will never

decompose

£36m worth of aluminium is put into landfills every

year

The UK waste landscape today

The European Waste Directive

(6) The first objective of any waste policy should be to minimise the negative effects of the generation and management of waste on human health and the environment.

Waste policy should aim to reduce the use of resources, favouring the practical application of the waste hierarchy.

No doubt at the forefront of your waste policy?

The UK waste landscape today

The UK Policy

Change is a constant feature, largely driven by EU law. The strategy focuses on:

• Waste hierarchy• Diversion from landfill• Hazardous waste disposal• Increase recycling• Reduction of waste from the economy• Shared responsibility

The UK waste landscape today

To summarise, it is important that you:

• Stay up to date with legislation

• Maintain an adaptable approach to managing waste

• Develop a whole business strategy for managing waste

• Engage everyone in your organisation

Myth 2 – “It’s general waste that causes the problem”

Myth 3 – “To recycle as much as possible, we need to segregate as much as possible”

Myth 4 – “I need to get the best bin price I can”

Myth 1 – “There’s no such thing as zero to landfill, is there?”

Reason #1: [expertise]

Myth 1 – ”There’s no such thing as zero to landfill”

Of course there is

strategise - plan - educate - segregate - implement - audit - review - adjust

Stop doing this

Do more of this

Myth 2 – “It’s general waste that causes the problem”

What’s in the bag?

Myth 2 – “It’s general waste that causes the problem”

Dry mixed recycling (MDR/DMR)

Over 85% in office environment

Myth 2 – “It’s general waste that causes the problem”

Food and food contaminated packaging

About 10% in an office environment

Myth 2 – “It’s general waste that causes the problem”

Residual waste (floor sweepings, wet waste etc.)

Less than 5% in an office environment

Myth 2 – “It’s general waste that causes the problem”

The point is this

General waste does not exist in a native state

You don’t have to manage it if you don’t create it

We create it by mixing the wrong types of material

Not true

A degree of segregation may be required but not necessarily; it depends on what materials and how much of them your business produces.

= £140 per tonne

= £70 per tonne

= £50 per tonne

= £320 per tonne

Myth 3 -

“To recycle as much as possible, we need to segregate as much as possible”

Dry materials can be recycled without being segregated at source:

Just chuck them all in the same recycling bin. Let someone else do the segregation

That’s what MRFs are for

Myth 3 -

“To recycle as much as possible, we need to segregate as much as possible”

Only segregate dry materials if you produce enough to make it commercially viable and have the capability to present the material as required

Myth 3 -

“To recycle as much as possible, we need to segregate as much as possible”

Myth 4 - “I need to get the best bin price I can”

• The price of a bin is governed by market forces and offers you minimal opportunity to make a difference

• The price agreed rarely equals the cost over the contract term

• The only thing that will change over term is the bin price

I would urge you to reconsider this approach…

Myth 4 - “I need to get the best bin price I can”Ensure you have resources and processes in place… So that your bins don’t look like thisAnd you ‘nail the lowest bin price’ you can ……….

Why?

The most expensive MDR bin you will ever buy.

Don’t take the wrong approach

Reason #2: [poor planning]

Taking the wrong approachToo many businesses do this

We are producing all this waste therefore:

“We need to segregate all these different types of materials?”

“We must find the right type of bin”

“We must find someone to collect at the cheapest price”

“We segregate at home so we should do it at work too”

“FMs keep the kit working and the yards clear”

“Procurement buy the cheapest consumables”

“The MD wants to keep a bin under their desk”

Conversely

Taking the wrong approachNot enough adopt this approach

As a business we know what we will produce, therefore:

“We will send no waste to landfill”

“We will recycle 95% of our waste”

“We will ensure everyone is accountable and that everyone can make a difference”

“We will reduce waste at point of procurement”

So, to appease the waste gods …

• Communicate strategic goals

• Agree objectives

• Engage and share responsibility

• Collaborate as a business

• Continually review and adjust

• Adopt a more strategic procurement approach

Engage and you shall succeed

- Sophia Bush, Environmental Activist

“People who think it’s ok to toss a plastic bottle in the garbage are not only being irresponsible but they are being disrespectful of all the other

humans on earth.”

Thank you.

Helistrat Management Services Ltd. Unit 4, The Mill, Royal Clarence Marina,

Weevil Lane, Gosport, Hampshire PO12 1AX

02392 604773www.helistrat.co.ukenquiries@helistrat.co.uk