INFORM Waste & Resource Efficiency
INITIATIVE
This website aims to find the perfect match for those setting up waste plants in London and will be launched by the City’s Waste & Recycling Board. The service matches devel- opers with those who can help them. It could match someone who has an anaerobic digestion technology but needs a site with someone who has the land and wants to build an AD plant.
The London Waste &
Recycling Board aims to launch the service on its website in September, along with an interactive map to allow those interested in the city’s waste requirements to understand the complex, interlinked issues.
CORPORATE
High-end supermarket chain Waitrose pulled cartons of milk after customers failed to take to the waste-cutting product. The John Lewis-owned food
retailer introduced a reusable jug and accompanying cartons of milk in order to cut waste from the popular product. Customers bought the jug filled with milk and then pur- chased easily recyclable cartons instead of plastic bottles, but a spokeswoman said that despite initial “success”, customers did not take to the cartons. But, as an “unacceptable” amount of milk went to waste, the retailer pulled the scheme.
TARGETS
Redesign of the traditional shoebox by sportswear giant Puma is set to cut paper waste from the packaging by almost two-thirds.
Jochen Zeitz said the com- pany would cut its carbon, waste and water use by 25% by 2015 and ensure that 50% of its products met the strictest sus- tainability standards by then. The company tasked Yves
Behar, the designer behind the One Laptop Per Child cam- paign, to devise a more sustain- able solution to the shoebox. The result was what Puma calls Clever Little Bag, which is, in truth, more a box-bag hybrid than a simple bag.
INITIATIVE
Smart water usage is key theme
Sustainable Business will this
year support Water Saving Week, which runs from 12-18 June. Backed by Defra, as well as a number of trade associations and industry bodies, the initiative is designed to raise awareness of the need for businesses and indi- viduals to reduce their environ- mental impact and save money by managing water use better. “Climate change, the green- house effect and global warming are now on everyone’s agenda,” said Shawn Coles, the founder of the not-for-profit initiative. “However, saving water has not had the attention it deserves.” Businesses looking to get
SMALL BUSINESSES
Business recycling made easy
The threat of legal action may rightly discourage most small businesses from dumping their waste at the nearest recycling banks, but on the outskirts of Bristol and Liverpool they’re being encouraged to do just that. Trial schemes at two Bristolian business parks and a Merseyside warehouse complex aim to see if setting up business-friendly recy- cling banks can drive up recycling rates for a section of the business community that has traditionally struggled in this area.
SMEs face a number of barriers when it comes to recycling – they often have no space to store waste between collections, lack incentives and often have difficul- ties arranging for waste compa- nies to include them on their rounds as the small scale of the operation does not make for an attractive contract.
The trial arranged by the Government’s Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) will investigate whether such schemes could be commer- cially viable and replicated else- where in the UK.
One project will operate at two business parks on the outskirts of
Trial recycling schemes in Bristol and Liverpool, which include offering incentives, aim to increase the number of businesses that use regularly recycling banks
Bristol, where steel storage con- tainers for recyclable materials will be located in accessible places on each business park.
Businesses that sign up to the scheme will be able to recycle glass, cardboard, paper, cans and plastic bottles. Incentives such as free waste reviews and free glass collection will be used to attract businesses to the scheme. The second project will see a bring back site close by a cash and carry warehouse on Merseyside.
This system is similar to those successfully used at household waste and recycling centres across the country, allowing registered companies to bring their waste from far and wide.
Linda Crichton, WRAP said:
“We hope that these schemes will overcome some of the barriers encountered previously by SMEs and also make it easier for small businesses to recycle their waste. We look forward to the results of the trials.”
BRIEFS CARPET TILE FIRM INTERFACE HAS CUT WASTE BEING SENT TO LANDFILL BY 80% SINCE 1996
8 May 2010 ❘ Sustainab le Business
Recognising the need for companies to address their water consumption and also manage their resources better,
Sustainable Business’ next
Round Table Debate will focus on water efficiency.
This year’s campaign will focus on better management of water resources
involved can visit the Water Saving Week website where they can make a pledge on water- saving targets and find solutions and technologies to help them.
Supported by our partners Halcrow and Veolia Water Outsourcing, the London event will not only see environment and finance managers discuss how best to save water, but also the need for water management to become a core part of the overall corporate strategy. More information will be given in the next issue.
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www.watersavingweek.org.uk
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