Reducing and Recycling Waste

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In this topic:

Why reducing waste is important
How to reduce waste (including waste reduction tips)
Waste regulations you must comply with

Why reduce waste?

Reducing waste is a key part of any green strategy. There are a number of very good reasons to cut the amount of waste your business, staff and customers produce:

Money - as a business it costs you money to remove all your waste. The more waste you cut, the more your save.
Environment - we cannot continue to send such vast quantities of waste to landfill sites, or continue to unthinkingly pour chemicals into our water systems. We have to take responsibility for the way we purchase, consume and dispose.
Legislation - new and tougher regulations to cut waste and increase recycling are being imposed all the time and they will only get stiffer. Flouting the regulations can cost you in fines, legal proceedings, management time and customer image.
Customers - green issues are high on customers' minds. They expect businesses to take a visible, responsible approach to the environment as standard and they vote with their purchasing power. A 2007 report from the Co-operative Bank showed that spending on ethical or green products and services grew by 9% in 2007 alone, taking the total UK spend to £32.3 billion.

What is waste?

This may seem like a daft question but waste is broader than you think, and unless you can identify waste, it is difficult to cut it. Waste is packaging, plastic, paper, cardboard, bottles, cans and food waste. But it is also cleaning chemicals, waste fat and drain sludge. It is consumer electricals, books, CDs and clothes. It is building rubble, leftover paint, old decorating tools and garden clippings. It is unwanted bed linen, old furniture, crockery and cutlery. It is old computers, printers, cartridges, files and phones.

According to WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Plan) waste in typical hospitality businesses is made up of the following (table courtesy of WRAP):


Category	B&B	Guesthouse	Hotel	Pub
	%	%	%	%
Paper	20.31	13.66	11.93	6.96
Cardboard	9.95	7.68	7.16	10.00
Glass	12.47	14.55	10.16	32.13
Steel and aluminium cans and tins	3.38	2.01	4.82	2.45
Totals	46.10	37.90	34.07	51.54

Plastic (containers and film)	14.94	10.84	8.54	6.91
Food waste	28.38	39.20	53.83	31.10
Other	10.57	12.06	3.56	10.45
Total	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00

However you need to know where your business is creating waste, in order to know how to stop or reduce it.

Suggested next steps:

Next steps:

Go to Waste reduction tips

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Quick Links

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