FOCUS WASTE MANAGEMENT
little voice saying ‘is this the right thing to
do’,” said Crook.
“What we’re realising is that, especially
on a site of this size, the opportunities for
recycling and reusing what we have here
are endless – not everything has to go in
a bin, there are so many other options
available.”
Lakeside has also benefited
from achieving rebates,
something that
resonates as an
increasing number
of respondents
(14 per cent)
are now
appreciating the
opportunities to
gain rebates on
reprocessing and
recycling.
In the first six
months of its new
contract, Lakeside
achieved rebates of over
£24,000 on cardboard recycling
alone and further rebates may be achieved
as there are also plans to bale and
reprocess polythene and plastic coathangers.
In addition, the introduction of
a segregated food waste service is also
expected to deliver costs savings.
Because food waste is traditionally very
heavy, if disposed of in general waste
bins it not only makes the bins heavier
to move, but also increases the cost of
40 MAY 2022
disposal because collection fees are based
on weight.
Taking out the food element reduces
the cost of general waste disposal – which
is generally five times more expensive
than disposing of segregated food waste
– and provides a much more sustainable
approach. If correctly segregated, food
waste can be sent to Anaerobic
Digestion facilities
where it produces
renewable
energy and a
nutrient-rich
biofertiliser.
Crook
adds: “We
already knew
we wanted
to tackle
food waste
as it is likely to
make the biggest
di erence to our
overall recycling rates and
costs.
“Because we have so many di erent
types of food outlets it’s easy to think that
it may only be three or four bags of food
waste per small unit, but when you add
that up with all the other food retailers too,
it becomes a lot.”
While the majority of FM respondents
said a good waste management service
would deliver improved environmental
credentials, an almost equal number (23.8
per cent v 23.1 per cent) said it would save
money or cost more money – showing
there is still an uncertainty amongst FMs
about the best approach.
On the plus side, the number of people
who believe a good waste management
service won’t make a di erence has more
than halved in five years.
The number of FMs who said they had
waste management strategies with clear
environmental targets was over 50 per cent
for the second year running, although the
number who still hadn’t set targets had
risen by nearly 10 per cent, showing there
is still a need for greater forward planning.
Those without a waste management
strategy dropped to its lowest ever, at 7.5
per cent.
Yarrow concluded: “Every year the survey
shows us that incremental steps are being
taken to improve waste management and
it’s encouraging to see FMs are asking
more questions about transparency and
environmental goals.
“We know from the results customers
such as Lakeside that good waste
management practice can deliver real,
tangible results to both the bottom line
and to sustainability goals.
“Working together with FMs is the
key to success and we continue to give
them every possible support to get those
recycling statistics higher than ever and
introduce new measures which help them
to reach those important environmental
targets in years to come.”
The number of FMs who
said they had waste
management strategies with
clear environmental targets
was over 50 per cent for the
second year running...”