Developing an environmental strategy for UK film - BFI

Ridlington & Richards, an environmental consultancy company based at Pinewood studios,
looked at the feasibility of recycling within the film industry after recognising materials are
skipped and sent to landfill sites after their use. Many of these materials were reusable and
recyclable. Ridlington & Richards calculated savings from hundreds to thousands of pounds
could be made by incorporating a waste strategy. They produced the following calculations:-
Set Disposal via traditional method – waste to skips
15 x skips @ £350.00 per skip (average price 2006) £ 5,250.00
Set Disposal via proposed method – waste to recycling
Based on four tons of wood product and three quarters of a ton of polystyrene product into one
skip
8 x skips of wood = 32 x tons of wood @ £50,00 per ton £ 1,600.00
6 x skips of poly = 4½ x tons of poly @ £100,00 per ton £ 450.00
1 x wood chipper machine x 3 days @ £125.00 per day £ 375.00
1 x polystyrene compactor x 1 day @ £125.00 per day £ 125.00
Total costs: £ 2,550.00
Therefore, traditional method = £5,250.00, recycling method £ 2,550.00
Total saving: £ 2,700.00
Savings increase as the size of production increases; a production with six or seven stages could
have savings of around £18,000 +
Waste also contributes to climate change, as waste sent landfill is responsible for increasing
methane emissions (methane is a greenhouse gas) thus is a key target for EU and UK Government
legislation and is literally a waste of natural resources. Natural resources are being used faster
than they can replenish. Waste disposal is an inefficient use of resources and has an effect on the
health of the environment, thus impacts on the ability of the environment to produce future
resources. There is a need for a more efficient use of resources to reduce the amount of resource
used and waste produced and to recycle more 34 .
Waste Strategy for England 2007
The then Environment Secretary David Miliband published a new strategy for cutting waste on
25 th May 2007. Businesses, individuals, local authorities and the Government will all have a role
to play by reducing the waste they produce. It is the first waste strategy for England since 2000.
The key objectives are less waste, more re-use and recycling, more energy from waste and less
landfill. An essential part of the drive is to tackle climate change (due to landfilled waste being a
major source of methane), reduce and recycle waste (which saves energy, thus reduces CO2
emissions) and reduce raw materials. The main points of the waste strategy include:-
• More effective incentives for individuals and businesses to recycle waste, leading to at
least 40% of household waste recycled or composted by 2010, rising to 50% by 2020.
34 Aluminium and glass can potentially be recycled again and again
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