FOCUS WASTE MANAGEMENT
30 MAY 2021
REFERENCE NOTES
(1) www.adeptnet.org.uk/covid-19-waste-surveyresults
(2) www.grundon.com
(3) www.veolia.co.uk
(4) www.initial.co.uk
(5) www.gov.uk/government/publications/
coronavirus-covid-19-lateral-flow-tests-wastecodes/
waste-codes-for-mass-testing-with-lateralflow
antigen-testing-devices
(6) www.alliedmarketresearch.com/requestsample/
9105
customer.”
Recycling has a key role to play towards
reaching net zero carbon as it actually saves
a significant amount of climate damaging
emissions compared with use of virgin
materials. While it remains a high priority for
FMs, the enforced hiatus could require some
re-education of sta to recycle and reliance
on single-use plastic.
Says Aragon: “During COVID it became
necessary to move to single-use
packing and containment, especially in
catering provision. Substitution towards
compostable items was made but significant
increases were seen in the general waste
side, and ultimately a reduction in the waste
hierarchy for many clients.
“The key to increase sustainability, and
limit environmental impact and carbon
emissions is reduction, reuse, and the
optimisation of recycled content. This
covers e ective waste management to treat
packaging at its end of life. Importantly
recycling always wins over virgin production
on all environmental indicators.
“For plastics, it has been shown that
recycling saves between 30 per cent and
80 per cent of the carbon emissions that
virgin plastic processing and manufacturing
generate. If all plastic were recycled this
could result in mean annual savings of 30
to 150 million tonnes of CO¨, equivalent to
shutting between eight and 40 coal-fired
power plants globally.”
Yarrow believes that employee
engagement is now more critical than ever.
“Everyone needs to realise that they can
do their part in the drive towards carbon
zero; whether it’s making the decision not to
use single-use plastics, to dispose of items
in the correct bins, and to think carefully
about purchasing decisions throughout the
supply chain.
“For example, there has been an increasing
trend towards new materials entering the
waste chain – such as compostable and PLA
packaging and other items made from raw
products such as corn starch and sugar cane.
In theory, it reduces the use of plastics but
the reality is that we’ve ended up with a new
waste stream without a recycling process,
which is degrading the value of genuinely
recyclable plastic and fibre products.”
SMART WASTE
A report published in March2021(6) on
smart waste management revealed that
Governments across the world, along
with health governing authorities such
as WHO had released guidance and
regulations regarding the use of smart waste
management processes that could help
lower the spread of Coronavirus. It also
predicted that the production, distribution,
and procurement of equipment, devices,
and tools for smart waste management will
begin getting back on track during the postlockdown
period, which will help streamline
collection and disposal processes.
Grundon has already implemented a
number of new ideas for customers, such as
new on-site weighing scales which are really
revolutionising waste charges, especially in
multi-tenant o ice facilities.
Explains Yarrow: “Instead of being billed
for an average cost based on the overall
amount of waste taken away, the new
weighing facilities allow each tenant to be
charged for only the exact amount of their
own waste – and of course, that’s going to
become even more important as di erent
customers return to work at di erent stages.
Each tenant is given an individual PIN so,
once the cleaning team has removed the
waste to the loading bay, the operative
inputs that code into the screen to record
exactly the weight and type of waste from
that customer’s o ices.
“Monthly reports and analysis can then be
sent to the managing agent (or directly to
the tenant if appropriate) and it means FMs
can work closely with the waste providers
and the tenants to introduce whatever
changes may be necessary to improve their
recycling figures and meet their targets.
“In addition, a number of our vehicles also
have weighing facilities so collections can
be monitored at source and reports fed back
to customers to help them determine any
changes to be made.”
Waste and recycling targets will have been
greatly disrupted due to the lockdowns of the
past year, and FMs may be looking to waste
management experts help clients re-evaluate
and meet their targets.
“This is a good time to review waste
streams and to look at new possibilities,”
says Aragon.
“It is likely that 2020 data sets will be
the baseline for at least the next year or
so. Looking at planned headcounts and
adjusting targets in proportion will give more
realistic targets for clients, but the changes
don’t mean that new targets can’t be set.
With work forces returning to the workplace
or adapting permanently to a more flexible
working and attendance it is a great
opportunity to look at improving facilities,
and looking at new waste separation
at source to increase opportunities for
recycling.”
/www.veolia.co.uk
/covid-19-waste-survey-results
/www.grundon.com
/covid-19-waste-survey-results
/www.initial.co.uk
/waste-codes-for-mass-testing-with-lateral-flow-antigen-testing-devices
/9105
