London Wider Waste Strategy - London - Greater London Authority

4.123. Whilst sustainable waste management practices are not part of the legislation package
that affects many commercial companies, the reuse of materials to avoid waste, along
with waste minimisation and recycling are now well enshrined in best practice and
Government policy. However, two recent surveys (Brook Lyndhurst 2004; SMEnvironment
2003) indicate that the majority of SMEs do not know where to turn for
advice and assistance on environmental issues. Brook Lyndhurst also suggests that even
with available information, SMEs may well be reluctant to address environmental issues
due to commercial or other pressures.
4.124. Larger commercial enterprises are perhaps better placed to implement waste
management practices than SMEs as many will have appointed a designated person to
handle environmental issues. In our experience, the main drivers for large companies
are perhaps reputation and public relations. Also, we have noted that an enthusiastic
person(s) with appropriate influence can have a significant affect on the internal
environmental culture of an organisation through championing sustainable approaches
to work. Whilst potential cost savings are obviously higher than for SMEs, they may well
not be highly significant when compared to other potential forms of cost saving for
office based sectors. This may be especially so in certain professions such as the
financial sector where salaries, rent and transport are likely to be far higher costs in
comparison to waste management, and hence perhaps the first area to consider when
costs savings are required. This should be part of good practice management. For
retail, wholesale, education and hospitality, however, it is envisaged that costs would be
an increasingly important driver but, again, perhaps not of immense significance.
Industrial Sector
4.125. The industrial sector SMEs have a much wider range of applicable legislation. Of
particular interest is the Packaging Waste Regulations 17 since this includes a requirement
to recover and recycle wastes. However, this does not apply to smaller companies (i.e.
those whose turnover is below £1m per annum and who handle less than 50 tonnes of
packaging per year). However, the practical impact of these regulations has arguably
been limited in some cases by companies who discharge their liabilities through joining a
registered compliance scheme.
4.126. In practice, there is a far greater driver for industry than commerce to implement
sustainable waste management practices, not just from a legislative perspective, but in
many cases due to costs. In general, industry produces a greater amount of waste per
employee and has more diverse waste streams than the commercial sectors. Many
industrial sectors also produce special waste and will be hit to a far greater extent by the
forthcoming Hazardous Waste Regulations which are expected to significantly increase
costs for much of industry (see chapter on hazardous wastes). Industry is also faced by
the requirement for discharge consents which can have a bearing on the amount of
wastes that they produce.
4.127. Larger enterprises are subject to a considerable raft of legislation under the Pollution,
Prevention and Control Act 1999 (PPC) which implements the EU Directive on
Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (96/61/EC) (IPPC). This is aimed at
preventing and controlling pollution from major industrial plants. This legislation is
being implemented over a number of years on a sector by sector basis.
4.128. The PPC regulations require that industrial processes are permitted by the Regulator. In
determining a permit, the Regulator will require that the operation is being operated in
17 Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997 as amended.
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