ZERO TO LANDFILL AND THE PSYCHOLOGY OF RUBBISH


Martin Edwards, MD of Business and Industry, OCS Group, discusses rethinking the recycling process and readjusting the mentality surrounding it.


The UK has a recycling problem. As a nation, we currently recycle 44% of rubbish, though the government hopes we can increase that to 50% by 2020. British attitudes to waste and what we do with it are changing with the growing realisation that many of the resources we rely on are finite. And with some countries, such as Germany, Singapore and Wales already recycling more than 60% of their waste, the UK is playing catch-up.


Traditionally, we used to dispose of waste in the UK by burning or burying it. But as the years have passed and the impact of this on the environment have become more apparent, we’ve begun to realise that this approach produces harmful by-products (carbon dioxide


and methane) and has the potential to contaminate water supplies. Add to this the pervasive threat of ‘global warming’ in public discourse in the last decade and it’s abundantly clear that something drastically needs to change.


CORPORATE SOCIAL


RESPONSIBILITY In response to social, economic and environmental issues, we’ve witnessed a significant upturn in the adoption of corporate social responsibility (CSR) by businesses both large and small. CSR takes many forms – cycle to work schemes are a great example of this.


Although CSR is arguably not simply goodwill for goodwill’s sake – the


20 | SUSTAINABILITY SUPPLEMENT


benefits it has brought in terms of galvanising companies to overhaul their sustainable processes has been substantial. With regards to the environment, the pressure is on for companies to reduce the size of their carbon footprint. Thanks in part to EU regulations, European companies in particular have led the way in their environmental efforts, such as eco- friendly offices, travel policies, and green energy usage.


OCS Group operates with the understanding that waste reduction and recycling have a major role to play in minimising the negative effects of climate change. And as a family-owned business, we don’t have obligations to shareholders, nor are


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