The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) waste page states:-
…Waste is defined in Article 1(a) of the European Waste Framework Directive (WFD) as 'any substance or object … which the holder discards or intends or is required to discard” and “there is no definitive list of what is and is not waste”.
 |
Industrial waste has always been legislated as it can be hazardous and if incompatible wastes are mixed, as in the past, results can literally be fatal. - “for every tonne of household waste produced, commercial, industrial and construction businesses produce another six tonnes.” – Defra.
It is a fact that Everyone, without exception, produces waste that they need to dispose of and all waste disposal is now heavily legislated, which is why you have paper, glass and cardboard collected separately at home as many “wastes” can be recycled.
We have significantly improved our recycling activities and waste management systems over the last several years, in fact probably since 1995, when the wheelie bins and new compacter were installed. The recycling page in this magazine gives some indication of how well we subscribe to recycling material at work and it should be appreciated that this is tons of material that would have ended up in the landfill at Gerrards Cross, but did not, thanks to you. |
However, legislation has now caught up with business and there is now a requirement to “pre-treat” ordinary waste before it is disposed of. “Pre-treating” means making sure that materials that you can reasonably recycle do not end up in the ordinary waste bin, and to do this means using the Recognise, React and Reduce principle.
“Reducing” or “Waste Minimisation” to be technically correct, is simple to say, but possibly the biggest challenge of all.
Waste Minimisation comes in many forms, but the earlier you employ the principle the more effective it can be. The Food industry is being challenged to reduce packaging waste and is encouraging you to participate with the “bag for life scheme” or re-use the bags from your last shopping trip. Good for the environment? Less waste, no new bags, no energy for new bags, less emissions from equipment to produce bags, less raw material used and so on. This could have come from a suggestion scheme.
So, apart from making suggestions, what else can you do to help? And why should you?
We have good control on liquid waste, but there will still be about 20 tankers of it this year and 2 lorries for chemical waste in drums, and at least 12 lorries to collect the big 28.6 cubic metre skip full of rubbish from ordinary office waste bins, dustbins, black bags etc.
The control on what is in office bins and dustbins is you, and as good as you are with recycling, the big rubbish skip still needs emptying about once a month, even though we compact this waste to save on lorries.
Each skip weighs about 6 tonnes, x 12= 72 tonnes pa, more than we recycle.
Take a second look at what you put in your bin. Junk mail is mentioned above, but what else can you recycle? Or can you re-use it? And if you have to get rid of a cardboard box, at least open both ends so we can get more in the recycling!
If you can’t recycle it here, can you take it back home and recycle it there?
e.g. what about orange peel and other food leftovers? Use paper food bags and once you have eaten, put any leftovers in it and dump the lot in the “green” waste bin at home.
Gives a cleaner, more hygienic workplace (no flies buzzing around in summer), reduces waste at work, improves recycling at home - a Win-Win situation.
As for Paper, all the paper we purchase comes from sustainable managed stock which has the minimum environmental impact.