Between July and September, we once again spoke to businesses across Europe. We asked about their experiences during lockdown, and whether they were able to remain open or not. We asked about priorities for the short term as well as their long-term intentions for waste management and recycling.
30% of European businesses experienced severe or critical levels of disruption to their operations. The two sectors with the highest critical disruption rates across Europe were retail and healthcare. Retail disruption was generally felt by stores deemed non-essential that had to close. Healthcare meanwhile experienced disruption as a result of remaining open, having to triage increased caseloads and manage additional waste as a result of the pandemic.
The pandemic hasn’t just impacted what already existed, it has also created new challenges for facilities. The need for secure disposal of contaminated PPE waste (such as masks and gloves) is now a concern for facilities in many sectors, not just healthcare. Our research indicates that businesses are not yet splitting this waste out: only 20% have implemented dedicated PPE waste management solutions.
More than half of businesses told us their recycling and waste practices had been impacted by the pandemic. Where additional waste streams such as PPE are being created, this disruption risks leading to an increase in poorly disposed of waste. Irresponsibly discarded face masks risk becoming the new plastic.
Alongside increased pressure on waste management processes, business told us the pandemic caused them to revaluate other business areas. The public are now looking for signs of visual cleaning in the facilities and venues they go to. Not only looking at the cleanliness of surfaces and equipment, but also for the presence of cleaning carts and bins. Hand hygiene provisions have been vital for staff and consumer confidence in reopening facilities.
All of these changes are factoring into a new way of working for businesses.
On the upswing
Despite the short and medium-term challenges the pandemic has brought to commercial waste management,
www.tomorrowscleaning.com
there have also been positive changes.
86% of the businesses we spoke to said they are intent on increasing their focus on recycling in the coming years. 77% are planning to increase their recycling spending. When asked how the pandemic had influenced the desire for greater recycling, 36% said it had been a direct influence on the desire to do more.
While these future plans are encouraging, and a reason to be optimistic, many businesses are honest about their current processes. 72% admitted that their current recycling efforts don’t always result in success. Businesses want to do more, but they also want to do it better.
What does the future hold?
2021 will be a new year, with businesses and cities hopefully having moved beyond severe lockdown conditions. The legacy for commercial and public spaces will be new waste streams and an opportunity to revamp recycling and waste management processes. Facilities across Europe will have an opportunity to implement new hygiene and PPE processes, as well as updating their waste management and recycling operations.
Recycling is an ongoing process and, while the pandemic has had an impact, businesses remain committed to commercial recycling and responsible waste management.
One final finding from our pandemic research: when businesses were asked to rank their priorities for the future, improving and increasing recycling scored higher than providing short term return to shareholders. Improving recycling is what businesses want to do.
Let’s do this together
RCP is a leading provider of recycling, waste and hygiene product solutions for facilities. Their extensive range of innovative products are designed for durability with the long-term sustainability goals of facilities in mind. RCP continues encouraging and supporting businesses that want to recycle more with resource and guidance materials that help businesses implement best practices.
www.rubbermaid.eu WASTE MANAGEMENT | 41
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70
