18 profile


Why recycling is a family matter for the Grundons


As the largest privately owned waste management group in the UK, Grundon Waste Management has long been a pioneer in the waste and recycling sector, as Alison Dewar discovered


The company has grown almost beyond recognition since 1929, when it was founded by engineer Stephen Grundon.


However, although it now has operations stretching throughout the Thames Valley and beyond, Grundon is still very much a family business.


Stephen’s son Norman, who moved into the waste management sector when he took over in the 1970s, is company chairman, while his son Neil is deputy chairman, working closely alongside managing director Richard Skehens.


The family’s spirit of innovation remains strong – it was Norman who first introduced the concept of wheelie bins into the UK in 1983, and it is now Neil whose role includes identifying which products and waste streams will be the recycling “stars” of the future.


“There’s no doubt the image of waste management and recycling has changed over the years, it used to be about landfill and collecting milk bottle tops, but nowadays the focus is on materials handling, resource management and energy,” said Neil Grundon.


Education and conservation are very important and the business has won awards for its commitment to the environment.


help. “When the economy is going well, businesses don’t think about packaging or paper, now though, they are looking much more closely at costs,” he added.


'...we need to look closely at new ways of materials recovery...'


Neil Grundon


He would like to see closer links between product designers and the waste industry, ensuring that good recycling practice becomes a cohesive part of new product design. Grundon’s own chemists, engineers and scientists are constantly looking at ways to improve processes and also work closely with Brunel University.


While the company is planning for a reduction in quantities of waste paper thanks to increased use of digital technology, it is plastics which are high on the agenda as the next big challenge.


“Plastics, especially those more difficult ones such as shrink wrap and pallet wrap are a big part of the waste stream that we haven’t really tackled yet,” said Grundon.


It is a long-time supporter


of local wildlife trusts and its landfill regeneration programmes are bringing nature back to life at sites across the region.


Next to its Colnbrook headquarters is Grundon’s Lakeside Education Centre. The smart modern venue (formerly gravel pits), now boasts a variety of wildlife, including kingfishers and swans.


The centre is often used to highlight the importance of recycling to visiting schoolchildren, using purpose-designed education programmes delivered in partnership with local charity Groundwork Thames Valley.


Neil Grundon believes tomorrow’s generation will be the real champions of recycling: “Youngsters are much more aware of waste and more accepting of the need to recycle than their parents,” he said. “They love to see what we do.”


In addition, he thinks the economic downturn may prove an unexpected


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“High oil prices especially mean we need to look closely at new ways of materials recovery, but the change will take four or five years because you need to have the necessary volume. We are doing a lot of work to raise the profile of rubbish as well as awareness of the opportunities for materials recovery so we can move towards that.”


To help businesses, Grundon offers a free waste analysis service, advising and offering guidance across a wide range of products.


“We want customers to be more aware of what they are throwing out and how they can change, we can advise them on best practice to improve recycling and save money,” he added.


Of course, some “customers” are better known than others, and the company is very proud of its Royal Warrant of Appointment by Her Majesty The Queen in the category of Waste Management. In 2010, Grundon embraced its royal connections still further when HRH The Duke of Edinburgh officially opened its


THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – APRIL 2012


smart new £160 million Lakeside Energy from Waste (EfW) plant.


So, with such a strong heritage, what are Grundon’s plans for the future?


Expansion beckons, Neil Grundon is keen to extend into Surrey and Hampshire and to strengthen the company’s national reputation as an independent leader in the waste management sector.


He is determined to change current habits which still see some 50% of waste going into landfill and says moving mindsets away from landfill and into energy has to be the next big step for industry.


If that


can be achieved, then improved recycling will be the natural consequence.


And, within the next five years, he wants to increase current turnover from circa £75m a year into the £100m+ bracket through a combination of organic growth and new initiatives.


Clearly, not a man to let a good idea go to waste.


Details:


01753-686777 info@grundon.com www.grundon.com


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