WASTE
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ESA Foreword:
Toni Waters of the Environmental Services Association addresses the topic of waste management, a key component of modern manufacturing across the globe.
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Giving waste management a voice
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James Pozzi profiles the Environmental Services Association, which works to advise its members and lobby government with the aim of making waste management practice more effective in the UK.
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Managing waste for the future
Sarah Morgan looks at Future Industrial, a company focusing on closed loops solutions to keep materials in the supply chain.
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WCRS achieves zero waste with Mondelez International
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Waste Cost Reduction Services has provided waste management services to Mondelez International’s Oxfordshire facility for over five years. It details how the confectionary company achieved zero waste to landfill.
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Biffa’s revolution
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Biffa IRM helps its customers turn waste into income. From high-end yachts to bagel factories, every manufacturing process generates some sort of waste.
Waste by numbers
A list of statistics which demonstrate the size of the domestic and industrial waste challenge.
Editorial
This report was compiled for ESA by: Jane Gray, Editor j.gray@sayonemedia.com
Design
Martin Mitchell, Art Editor martin@opticjuice.co.uk
Sales
Matt Chilton, Project Director m.chilton@sayonemedia.com
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W A S T E M A N A G E M ENT
the
en v i ronment a l
ser v i ces
a ssoc i a t i on
foreword T
he Environmental Services Association (ESA) is the trade association for the waste and resource management sector in the UK. We are working with our members to transform the industry, by helping to enable them to turn Britain’s waste into a valuable resource and efficient energy, while also protecting the environment. Our industry provides services to householders, councils and businesses which are essential to modern life. The companies that make up our sector collect the waste materials, treat it responsibly, and turn it into new resources, fuel, electricity and heat for the nation. Our members include the UK’s largest waste and resource management companies, as well as many SMEs, and represent the majority of the industry by turnover. In recent years the industry has transformed itself. Ten years ago,
four-fifths of Britain’s household waste went to landfill (compared to well under 40% today), and resource & waste management was chiefly focused on the logistics of collection and transport. While these still matter, the industry has developed a range of innovative technologies to treat waste materials and recyclables so as to extract the maximum economic value from them. The ESA is also at the forefront of debates about waste prevention, recycling, reuse and recovery of waste, playing a vital role in driving higher standards within our industry and developing a Circular Economy – one in which resources are used as effectively as possible.
consumers, waste management companies and government - can work together to develop an economy where maximum value is extracted from products at every stage of their existence – from sustainable design, to product manufacturing, and retailing, through to recovering and processing the product at the end of its life. Innovation is a constant feature of modern waste management, and ESA and its members are keen to work with partners throughout the supply chain to develop a more resource efficient economy.
Toni Waters Communications and Membership Officer, Environmental Services Association
We recently released our ‘Going for Growth’ Circular Economy report. The report outlines how all key stakeholders in the UK economy – designers, manufacturers, retailers,
Email: info@esauk.org Twitter: @ESA__tweets Environmental Services Association, 154 Buckingham Palace Road, London, SW1W 9TR Press Line: +44 (0)207 591 3219
www.esauk.org www.themanufacturer.com/wastemanagement2013
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e d i tor i a l i ntro d uct i on
T o wa r d s a c i r c Ja m e s Po z z i o utl i n e s r e cen t a d van ce s in the U K ’s w as te m a n ag e m en t ne tw o r k fo r i nd u s t r y an d the d r e am o f e stabl i s h i n g a ci r c u l ar eco n o my i n th e U K .
W
ith 177 million tonnes of waste generated every year in England alone, the UK still has some way to go in order to reduce and manage its waste more efficiently. But progress is evident. Ten years ago, over three-quarters of Britain’s waste went to landfill. But over that intervening decade, there has been significant shift away, with landfill usage having dropped to well under 50% today. Increasingly sophisticated technologies and forward thinking companies looking to reduce waste have also emerged. A significant contributor to this is Environmental Services Association (ESA), the trade association set up in 1968 aimed at transforming waste and resource management in the UK.
From landfill to recyclable waste
Previously the National Association of Waste Disposal Contractors until 1996, ESA Director-General Barry Dennis, who is also president of the Chartered Institution of Waste 4
Management, says the step change was the introduction of the Landfill Act in the late 90s. As a result, this drove companies away from using landfill sites to dump waste over to a focus on recycling. But recycling itself is not a new concept according to Mr Dennis, but one that has gradually evolved over time along with public acceptance and recognition of its importance. “Moving away from landfill, which was the major way any waste was disposed of, people often think that recycling is new to the sector,” he says. “We’ve been recycling for many years, but it wasn’t called that and wasn’t recognised as a bona fide way of dealing with waste – it was known as totting. But it has certainly moved up the agenda now, and has been recognised by the government through initiatives such as the introduction of a waste hierarchy.” One of the key trends of waste management has been industry consolidation with the big seven industry firms - the likes of Biffa, Shanks and Veolia - all acquiring smaller companies in recent years. With a healthy number of members and associate companies at present, Mr Dennis says the significance lies in the value of the members rather than the volume. “The waste management sector is worth around £12bn annually, and our members equate to about 75-80% of that.”
Brussels influence
The European Union (EU) is a major factor in shaping industry initiatives. All regulations start off in Brussels, before coming to Westminster to be transposed into UK law. EU input has been instrumental in progressing waste management
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infrastructure and best practice according to ESA’s director of policy Matthew Farrow. It has helped the region stay at the forefront in finding solutions to a growing global issue. “There are good grounds for believing that, without the impetus of EU waste legislation, successive UK governments would have lacked the political will to have taken the steps necessary to achieve the significant improvements in resource efficiency, recycling and environmental protection which the UK has seen in the last 15 years,” says Mr Farrow.
W A S T E M A N A G E M ENT
c ula r e c o n o m y in production. ESA’s Dennis believes that in the last two years there has been a greater adoption of waste management strategies by manufacturing companies. A notable success story has been Coca-Cola, with the global soft drinks giant ensuring 99.5% of the waste produced from its factories is now recycled, with just 0.5 per cent going to landfill.
Establishing a circular economy in the UK could create
50,000 £3bn
The future
to GDP
But while the waste management industry continues to grow, the manufacturing sector is now struggling to catch up with all it has to offer in terms of technologies and services to support broad sustainability, as well as compliance. The industry’s relative lack of motivation in keeping abreast with waste management developments resonates with a wider sluggishness in adopting new technologies in other areas – such as automation
“We’ve engaged with manufacturers and institutions such as EEF and CocaCola to try and get their views on how this circular economy will work, as it is at their end,” he explains. “Nobody has said to us this is ridiculous and unfeasible, as the simple fact is we need to make it work.” EEF has recommended the ESA educate and engage entire supply chains including manufacturers, retailers and consumers. In summary, it’s all about gathering and utilising better data material flow in the UK economy.
jobs and add
Manufacturing in a circular economy
nutrients, designed to re-enter the biosphere safely, and technical nutrients, which are designed to circulate at high quality without entering the biosphere. Dennis says ESA has already spoken with a number of manufacturing companies and bodies about the benefits of a circular economy.
While the much gilded circular economy is the long-term vision, the tools to continue to enhance waste management remain an intriguing issue. In terms of the future, Mr Dennis feels there is no definite answer, but feels further advancements in knowledge, approaches and technology are inevitable.
Success stories like this show that the UK is gradually creating a network of circular economies which, ultimately could link at a national level to create a self-sustaining eco-system. Establishing a circular economy in the UK, where existing resources are re-used and recycled on a much larger, more coordinated scale, could generate 50,000 new jobs, attract £10 billion investment and boost GDP by £3 billion. Such an economy would be, by design, restorative. Circular economy material flows are of two types, biological
“If someone had said to me 50 years ago, when I started out, that we’d be doing some of the things in the industry that we are today, they’d have been laughed at.” He uses the analogy of the advancement of the mobile phone as a comparison. “Had someone said you’ve have something the size of a matchbox in your pocket that could call Australia, it’d have been the same,” he says. “But we’re all doing it now and it’s all part of our way of life.”
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future industrial
W A S T E M A N A G E M ENT
Managing waste for the
Wi th th e incr e a s i n g fo c u s to a chi eve Co r po r at e S o ci a l Res p on s i bi l it y a nd S us t ai n abil it y ta r g e ts , w as t e m a na ge m en t co m p a n i es ar e cha lle n g e d t o innova t e an d cr e a te n ew so luti on s ; Fu t u r e Indus tr ial Se r v ice s ha s b e e n qu i et l y lea d i ng t h e w ay.
A
fter being established just over 10 years ago Future Industrial Services was acquired by the One51 group, an Irish investment company based in Dublin, in 2007. One of its investment arms is environmentalservices under the holding company Clearcircle Future, which has a specialist business division in Berwick focusing on closed-loop solutions to keep materials in the supply chain.
A good example of this closed-loop service at Berwick is the work with a major global specialty chemicals company, who supply etchant to the UK electronics and metal finishing market. When the etchant comes to the end of its useful cycle, Berwick will collect it before chemically recovering and re-manufacturing it for the partner to a finishing product specification supplying back to industry through the affiliate distribution warehouse. The byproducts of this procedure are copper compounds, which are valuable raw materials required by associated industries to manufacture new products for a number of applications.
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This closed-loop solution has three main benefits in terms of cost-savings to the manufacturer: firstly, no waste is produced, which eliminates wastage costs. Secondly, the value of the material is recovered; and thirdly, Berwick can re-supply the product or material back to a manufacturer, so it won’t need to purchase virgin material. This means they can plan for the future not having to account for the rising cost of new commodities. The waste recycling plant operated by FIS in Berwick has also developed and refined technology to extract and recover a number of other metal compounds including tin, nickel and mercury amongst others. This has significant environmental and economic benefits to the industries that utilise chemical etchants, metal-bearing solutions or have challenges managing toxic metals such as mercury. Solutions are now being developed to solve the challenges of recovery and recycling to meet the ongoing challenges of sustainable manufacturing. Here Berwick position themselves to challenge the Asian manufacturing market with the ability to offer a significantly better carbon footprint for companies located in the UK. Future can also help clients with their waste profiling or their waste audits. Martin Hodges, sales and marketing director at Future Industrial Services, says: “We can work with them on strategies to minimise waste or improve recycling rates.� Through a forward thinking approach, with both ISO 14001 and 9001:2000 under its belt, Future Industrial offers an unrivalled service to UK companies. See more at: http://bit.ly/StepIntoTheFuture
Specialist Waste Solutions Future Industrial Services Limited offer a range of Waste Management and specialist Industrial Services to meet the requirement of Government agencies, Local Authorities Public Utilities, National and MultiNational companies.
The company operates a range of specialist equipment including a large fleet of articulated vacuum tankers able to carry a wide range of products including flammable and acidic materials.
www.futureindustrial.com Northern Office | Future Industrial Services | Acornfield Road | Knowsley Industrial Park | Kirkby Liverpool | L33 7UF | Tel: +44 (0)151 203 3222 | Fax: +44 (0)845 034 9223 Southern Office | Future Industrial Services | 13 Broad Quay Road | Felnex Industrial Estate | Newport NP19 4PN | Tel: +44 (0)1633 277270 | Fax: +44 (0)1633 277280
WASTE COST REDUCTION SERVICES
W A S T E M A N A G E M ENT
WCRS achieves zero waste with Mondelez International Waste Cost Reduction Services (WCRS) has been providing waste management services to Mondelez International (MDLZ) in Banbury (formerly Kraft Foods) for over five years.
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WCRS introduced a food waste recycling system to capture waste coffee, dried pasta and tea bags from the production process for composting. This complemented MDLZ’s existing system where: Cardboard, paper, shrink wrap, glass and hessian sacks from the production process are segregated at source Mixed recyclables in smaller quantities such as plastics, paper and card are collected commingled and taken to a Materials Recycling Facility
n early 2011, they set a target of zero waste to landfill by the end of the year.
The challenge was to eliminate contamination of clean recyclable material with food stuff. The site also lacked a recycling culture which discouraged staff from fully participating in the scheme.
Non-recyclable waste is taken to an incinerator to generate energy from waste. WCRS developed staff guidelines, communicated through various channels, to maximise material
collected for recycling and ensure that good, clean, material remained uncontaminated. WCRS also advised MDLZ about reducing waste in the supply chain with pressure put on food product suppliers to reduce packaging. From January to July 2011, MDLZ sent 428 tonnes of waste to landfill but from August to December 2011, nothing was sent to landfill and over 90 tonnes were diverted to create energy from waste. Since zero waste to landfill was achieved, MDLZ has extended its contract with WCRS.
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For more information, visit
www.wcrsltd.co.uk
or call 0844 846 2000.
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COMPLIANCE AND PEACE OF MIND
K
State of the
Art
Metal recyclin g
Alchemy Metals are an independently owned factory scrap metal service specialist. Based at our state of the art facility in Hertfordshire, we offer tailored waste management solutions to clients all over the country. Whilst all of our customers have different requirements, we guarantee to provide each and every one with the same level of unprecedented service, quality, integrity and traceability. Quite simply you will get from us the best scrap service you have ever experienced. Materials bought: aluminiums, brass, chrome steels, copper alloys, high speed steels, specialist steels, nickel alloys, stainless steels, titanium alloys, cobalt alloys, tungsten alloys, precious metals and a range of non-ferrous materials.
Working in partnership with
Cavendish Point, Cavendish Road, Stevenage, Herts SG1 2EU T: 01438 745307 F: 01438 728211 E: enquiries@alchemymetals.co.uk www.alchemymetals.co.uk
Biffa IRM
Almost all manufacturing processes generate waste. Using this waste productively instead of disposing of it can cut costs and open up additional revenue streams through co-product sales. Biffa IRM ask what resources you use, and how can they be better organised to m a x i m i s e v a l u e?
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revolution is taking place in the British manufacturing sector. From a position where companies were paying for their waste to be disposed of, we are now in the age of the circular economy where all materials have value regardless of their position in the manufacturing chain. Biffa IRM helps its customers turn waste into income. From high-end yachts to bagel factories, every manufacturing process generates some sort of waste. With the right expertise and treatment, off-cuts and other waste materials can be sold as co-products – good news both for your company’s bottom line and for the environment. 10
W A S T E M A N A G E M ENT
Transforming manufacturing waste into profit Sending zero waste to landfill requires a systems-thinking approach. By studying operations and identifying where waste is generated, it is possible to design out waste, streamline processes, achieve “best ever” rebates for recyclable materials, find the right market for your co-products and turn cost into profit. Sometimes called Industrial Symbiosis, the premise is that one man’s waste is another man’s treasure. Forward-thinking companies are realising the value in their waste streams, and in doing so are delivering impressive savings whilst improving their corporate social responsibility. Whichever way you look at it, being smarter with your waste makes perfect business sense. Premier Foods, Maple Leaf Bakery and Moy Park have all benefited from Biffa IRM’s intelligent approach to sustainable resource management. Moy Park for example has gone from sending 85% of waste to landfill to recycling and recovering more than 90% of waste in less than 12 months. “Working with Biffa to streamline waste management practices across all of our sites has resulted in a single overarching waste management process, enabling Moy Park to achieve its target much faster than
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anticipated,” commented Colin Wilkinson, Moy Park’s Environmental Management and Health & Safety Advisor. By embedding experts on-site, Biffa IRM can really get to the heart of the problem. By addressing each waste stream in turn, they have delivered zero waste to landfill and zero cost for waste disposal – in fact some customers have more than broken even on their waste costs and are now profiting from an additional income stream. Robin Chambers of Biffa IRM explains, “As UK Plc comes under ever more pressure to increase competitiveness, a focus on waste can yield surprising results. Don’t miss the opportunity to be ahead of the game – take another look at your operations and set the pace for a sustainable future.” For more information visit www.biffa/IRM.co.uk call Darren Kenney, Head of Commercial Development on 07977 550975
W A S T E M A N A G E M ENT
WASTE by numbers These statistics help to bring home the size of the challenge and opportunity for Britain in gaining better control of its domestic and industrial waste streams. Changing the game No longer considered the dream of idealists, the aim of establishing a circular economy in the UK is gaining credence. Leading proponents of the circular economy, such as the Ellen Macarthur Foundation are drawing increasing intellectual and financial resources to bolster their ambitions and leading waste management firms are at the vanguard in researching and piloting new toolkits and technologies to support the design of regenerative industrial and consumer systems. A key obstacle in gaining more commercial buy-in and engagement in circular economy projects has, until recently, hung on the limited ability to record and display progress or return on a system’s intrinsic ‘circularity’. But that is about to change. In September it was announced that the Ellen Macarthur foundation has won full funding from the European Commission for the development of the first recognised metric tool for measuring circularity. Such a metric could prove a game changer for industrial sustainability and for the significance of the UK waste management sector within the wider industrial ecosystem. A circularity metric will support businesses in creating accurate, measurable and consistent parameters for tracking their circularity progress and measuring impact. It will help businesses to engage with the opportunity of the circular economy and offer an industry standard by which to test and develop its effectiveness within their business. Find out more at: bit.ly/LifeplusProject
millon tonnes
Management
220
The UK produces over 220 million tonnes of controlled waste per year, nearly 75% of which ends up in landfills
The waste management sector is worth to UK GDP annually Producing steel from recycled material saves of the energy needed to make steel from virgin material
About 48% of renewable gas and electricity in Great Britain now comes from landfill gas
UK hospitality sector (hotels, pubs, restaurants and quick service restaurants) could save £724 million a year by tackling food waste
We throw away more than 7 million tonnes of food and drink every year from our homes - most of which could have been safely consumed
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Environmental Services Association, 154 Buckingham Palace Road, London, SW1W 9TR Press Line: +44 (0)207 591 3219 Email: info@esauk.org Twitter: @ESA__tweets
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