FOCUS WASTE MANAGEMENT
LASTING VALUE
For many of us, a typical day at
work might include a few cups
of co ee from the machine in the
corridor (a bottle of water if you’re
feeling healthy), a sandwich from
the supermarket around the corner
(crusts discarded), plus perhaps a
last-minute, overwrapped delivery of
that birthday present you didn’t have
time to buy from the shops (and bring
home in your own reusable bag)…
Take our eating habits alone. According to a recent
report by environmental charity Hubbub, British
workers’ ‘lunch on the go’ habit is creating 10.7 billion
items of packaging waste annually. That’s 276 items
per person, including sandwich containers, packets of
snacks, napkins and plastic cutlery. And that’s just one
example. The reality is that much of what we discard
isn’t being recycled or reprocessed, and singleuse
plastics are one of the biggest o enders.
So many of the things we do these days are based
around convenience and saving time, at the expense of
that one big precious goal – saving the planet.
The government’s resources and waste strategy
recently set out a blueprint to help minimise waste,
promoting resource e iciency and the drive towards
a circular economy. It wants to move away from the
economic model of ‘take, make, use, throw’ and instead
embrace the recovery and regeneration of products and
materials whenever possible, e ectively giving them a
new lease of life.
In the workplace environment, facilities managers
are essential in helping to deliver these changes. They
would be well advised to consult waste experts who
have the required expertise at their fingertips.
One good example of how the circular economy
works in practice is at West One Shopping Centre,
in London’s busy Oxford Street. Last year, its waste
management supplier Grundon Waste Management
introduced a new paper cup recycling service; now
38 JUNE 2019
more than 10,000 paper cups are collected
every month and recycled into paper,
which in turn is bought by West One.
In another innovative move, Grundon
is currently exploring how singleuse
plastic bottles can be reprocessed and
turned into ‘green’ o ice furniture. The fact
that unwanted food waste (provided it is
properly segregated) can be turned into
green energy and biofertiliser
is another
example of the circular economy in action.
Grundon’s Steve Hill says: “Initiatives such as these
are demonstrating reallife
practical examples of the
way di erent types of waste can be repurposed and
given a new lease of life. Facilities managers have a
responsibility to meet or exceed employees’ sustainable
behaviour, and we work closely with them to review the
type of waste being produced, how it is disposed of, and
what changes can be made to improve recycling and
reprocessing opportunities. The easier we can make it
for employees to think and act more sustainably, the
quicker we can make a di erence.”
Singleuse
plastics is one of the main targets. Hill says
that removing singleuse
plastic cups and replacing
them with china cups, using glasses and jugs for water,
and even encouraging employees to bring in their
own lunch in a reusable plastic container can all start
to make a di erence. Although this may mean some
additional cost at first, companies can o en make up
the di erence as waste management costs are likely to
reduce in the longer term.
BESPOKE APPROACH
Recently, a survey of facilities managers undertaken
by FMJ in conjunction with Grundon revealed that the
inability to engage with sta about the need to recycle
is the number one barrier to improving performance,
closely followed by restrictions such as the lack of space
for containers (full results of the survey will be available
at the Facilities Show this month).
Working with waste experts who take an individual
approach and the time to help with employee
engagement programmes will reap rewards, says Hill.
“There is no ‘one size fits all’ solution, and that’s why
we take a bespoke approach. We carry out audits, we
advise on the di erent types and locations for bins
for maximum usage, we provide posters and signage
and, above all, we get out and talk to people, both with
our waste awareness days and through daytoday
activities.
If you’d like to speak to one of Grundon’s experts
about improving your business’ waste management
performance, visit stand FM5230 at Facilities Show 2019.
A recent survey by FMJ and Grundon Waste Management revealed that
Pany oUJanisations stUuJJle to conYince staƚ oI tKe need to Uecycle
How can employees be encouraged to think and act more sustainably?
SEVEN STEPS TO
IMPROVED RECYCLING
1. Conduct a waste audit
Take a walk around your premises and
undertake a visual survey. Get expert
insight by inviting a reputable waste
management company along to help.
2. Know the sources of your waste
Identify where waste is arising and what currently
happens to it. Swapping under-desk bins and
replacing them with centralised recycling points
improves segregation and boosts recycling rates.
3. Remove singleuse
items
Remove single-use items such as plastic cutlery,
cups and food packaging – replacing them with steel
cutlery, drinking glasses, china cups and plates.
4. Look to amend your business processes
Find ways to reduce the waste you generate by
designing waste out of your business processes
– do you really need to print so many emails and
documents?
5. Review your current arrangements
Ensure the frequency of collections matches the
volume and types of waste your business produces.
6. Understand the cost of your waste
Analyse your waste management bills and
calculate your monthly costs. Segregating waste
can be more cost e ective (such as sending food
waste to anaerobic digestion), and may even earn
you a rebate.
7. Improve segregation to boost
recycling rates
Improving segregation not only helps to increase
recycling rates, it can also help to reduce costs by
taking heavy items such as glass and food out of
your general waste.