The Company That Cares
We hear from Sarah Southworth, Owner of Specialised Cleaning Services, about her take on CSR and the circumstances which led her to take a novel approach to it.
Households across England are throwing away £435million worth of re-useable goods, according to recent research from the Local Government Authority (LGA) reuse commission. It is becoming a growing priority for the government to help people find alternative methods of dealing with these unwanted items that include furniture and white goods. Significantly, there could be a £60million saving to council tax payers if this kind of waste is diverted from landfill and put to better use by being recycled and re-used.
On a local level, amongst many communities across the UK the recycling of unwanted furniture is a growing problem and can result in cases of unwanted fly tipping, as some individuals and businesses choose this route rather than turning to clearance companies who can
44 | SPECIALIST CLEANING
be known to charge high rates. The specialist cleaning industry is well placed to make a difference in the recycling of re-usable goods though, as cleaning companies within this industry come across unwanted items on a daily basis.
When cleaning void properties, many unwanted items are uncovered in the properties that specialist cleaning companies are contracted to clean. These properties may have no tenants, but can still be full of furniture and unwanted items, which need to be cleared before the in depth cleaning can begin. Unfortunately, the majority of specialist cleaning businesses will clear the unwanted items and dispose of them at landfills and will only do so at a cost. This adds to the Government's problem of too much waste heading to landfill,
increasing costs for housing associations and no benefits being given to the wider community.
Sarah Southworth, Owner of Specialised Cleaning Services, takes a different approach to this growing problem, and explained what made her treat this issue differently to other specialist cleaning businesses. She believes her approach is an integral part of their corporate social responsibility, and that it has helped to grow her client base and ultimately help individuals, families and businesses within local communities.
Sarah explained: “My working life began in the 1990’s and grew out of the need to provide for my two young sons following the untimely death of their father. We had no money and had no help from friends or family. I initially took on
www.tomorrowscleaning.com
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