FOCUS WASTE MANAGEMENT
PANEL PERSPECTIVE
Some of the key fi ndings of the third major survey into waste management and recycling by FMJ
and Grundon Waste Management were presented to a panel of senior FMs who briefed us on how
they are dealing with waste management during the pandemic
The third waste and recycling survey once again showed that waste
management and recycling is the most important consideration for FMs,
ahead of energy consumption and the working environment. Encouragingly,
while it is seen as a challenge for almost 40 per cent of respondents, more than
half (51 per cent) saw it as an opportunity.
Of the multiple environmental and sustainability responsibilities
facilities professionals are responsible for, which do you think are
the most important?
Waste management and recycling 30.60%
Energy consumption / management 28.88%
The working environment 15.09%
Carbon footprint management 13.79%
Pollution 2.59%
Other 3.88%
28 OCTOBER 2020
Commented Anthony Foxlee-Brown, Grundon’s Head of
Marketing and Communications: “For a waste management
company like Grundon this is a great thing to hear as it’s
somewhere we feel we can add value, and it’s encouraging to
know it’s something that FMs feel passionate about as well.”
As with every facet of life in 2020, however, the panel revealed
that many of their targets had “gone out the window” due to
the e ects of lockdown, and with their organisations
operating on a model where “health trumps
sustainability” how could this e ect recycling
levels? This is an important point because the
engagement of stakeholders, whether senior
management or sta is crucial in ensuring
healthy recycling rates.
For the third year running, the inability
to engage sta was seen as the biggest
barrier to improving waste and recycling
performance, while implementing an
employee education and engagement
programme was viewed as the most helpful
way to support waste management strategies.
As with every facet of life in
2020, however, the panel
revealed that many of their targets
had “gone out the window due to the
eff ects of lockdown, and their
What are the biggest barriers to improving
waste and recycling performance in your
organisation?
Inability to engage sta with the need to
recycle ie: lack of education 38.39%
Physical restrictions, ie: lack of space for bins,
compactors, etc 24.17%
Lack of resources ie: budget, sta 16.11%
Lack of senior management support/
understanding of waste management issues 9.95%
Lack of time 5.69%
Perceived additional cost 5.69%
When we asked our panel, why is engaging sta
still seen as such an obstacle, it was suggested that
both a lack of trust in what happens to recycled
material and a lack of accountability are issues:
“There is a perception that the recycled material
isn’t being processed the way it was meant, so it’s
partly the expectation of what happens to it, and
partly people just being lax and deciding to chuck
things in the bin while they’re at work.”
The panel also agreed that while younger
people want to be aligned with a firm with a
organisations operating on a
model where “health trumps
sustainability”