What is it?
DEFINITION
Waste
Waste refers to any substance which is discarded after primary use, or is worthless, defective, and of no use.
Waste is generally divided in 3 categories:
✓ General waste usually goes to landfill (but can also be incinerated and converted into energy) and cannot be recycled;
✓ Recyclable waste can be separated in different streams including glass, paper, cardboard, metal, plastic, tyres, textiles, batteries, and electronics;
✓ Organic waste can be composted and includes any material that is biodegradable and comes from either a plant or an animal. Examples of organic waste include green waste, food waste, food-soiled paper, non-hazardous wood waste, green waste, and landscape and pruning waste.
Green businesses have a responsibility to establish and integrate sustainable waste management processes in order to reduce impact on the environment, public health, and biodiversity.
Why is it important?
There are two main benefits to sustainably managing and minimising your business waste.
The first of these is that sustainable waste management can actually save your business money in the long run. Simply by following the waste hierarchy (refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose, or recycle waste), businesses can save money at purchasing.
Landfill sites are also becoming more and more expensive. In the UK, the current standard rate of landfill tax for ‘active’ wastes (those that give off emissions) is £96.70 per tonne (compared with £10 per tonne before 2000).
The other main benefit to managing and minimising waste is that it reduces your businesses impact on the environment.
In Lincolnshire, waste is the most significant source of carbon emissions, with waste disposal activities having the largest impact, accounting for 53% of Lincolnshire’s waste- related carbon footprint.
Effective management and minimisation of waste is therefore a priority for businesses wanting to save money and reduce their environmental impact.
How can I improve it in my business?
There are many ways a business can improve its waste management, starting with monitoring the different waste streams. Six top tips that you can implement to improve waste management are presented below.
Follow the waste hierarchy
Do everything you reasonably can to refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose, or recycle waste
(in that order).
Monitor all waste streams
You can’t change what you don’t measure! The monitoring process can be as simple as
counting the number of bins you fill and multiplying this by an average weight.
Reduce use of single-use items
While the immediate, global focus on single-use items relates to plastic, consider swapping all individually packaged and single-use items as these will all be a significant element of your business’s waste. Within a hotel, for example, single-use items account for up to 40% of total waste. One way to reduce this impact is to purchase products in bulk where possible and use refillable dispensers (e.g., toiletries and cleaning products).
Provide recycling bins for staff and customers
Providing separate recycling bins for both staff and customer use can help reduce the cost of general waste disposal and reduce the carbon footprint of your business. It also provides a visual representation of the efforts your business makes to be sustainable.
Use an organic waste bin
Where applicable (e.g., businesses with food operations or gardens), have a separate bin for organic waste to be composted on site or collected. Depending on the business type, this can significantly lower the amount of waste sent to landfill, saving you money too!
Go plastic free
Provide re-usable alternatives to common plastic objects such as bottles, glasses, take-away cups and lids, cutlery and plates, straws, plastic wrap, etc.
You can also sign up to Plastic Free Communities, a free initiative which gives you the tools needed to identify and reduce plastic in your operations. Check out their website to learn more.
Downloads
Waste reduction checklist
Green businesses have a responsibility to establish and integrate sustainable waste management processes to reduce their impacts on the environment, public health, and biodiversity.
This checklist provides you with tips and advice on how to reduce the amount of waste you produce.
A case study – Stokes Tea & Coffee
Who is Stokes Tea and Coffee?
Stokes Tea & Coffee is an award-winning Lincoln-based enterprise established in 1902 which runs its own cafés, roasts its own coffee, and delivers wholesale orders to many other local businesses.
What is the business doing?
To cut down on packaging waste associated with the delivery of tea and coffee, Stokes started a scheme known as Zero Waste. The scheme delivers wholesale products in reusable buckets which are then returned to Stokes on the next delivery to be reused again and again.
This scheme is the latest in several other waste-tackling actions Stokes have taken, such as using upcycled materials for refurbishment, investing in recyclable packaging, and supporting the free top-up water refill scheme.
What can my business do?
Have you asked your current suppliers what options there are for returnable or recyclable packaging? Make suppliers to which you can return packaging your preference!
Stokes Tea & Coffee’s Zero Waste Scheme has prevented the unnecessary use of over 2,000 packaging boxes
#GreenTourism Lincolnshire
Is your business working towards reducing waste? Share it on social media with #GreenTourismLincolnshire
