Waste not want not - States Assembly

WASTE NOT, WANT NOT
146
3. Commercial & Industrial Waste
Approximately 30 million tonnes of commercial
waste, and 48 million tonnes of industrial waste
was produced in England and Wales in
1998/99. 152 From that total 36% was recycled
and 54% was disposed of to landfill.
Business and industry will opt for the most cost
effective way to manage their waste stream and
the interest taken in recycling and waste
minimisation activities will largely depend on
quantities of waste produced, market availability
and impact of activities upon their final waste
bill. Instruments such as the landfill tax have not
necessarily achieved the desired effect of
diversion from landfill due to the level of
taxation not being set high enough. In addition,
as a result of resource and time constraints, it is
the larger companies, multinationals, or those
operating within an environmental remit that
are more likely to consider different waste
management options and incorporate recycling
strategies. Essentially the drivers in this instance
are not just economic but also external relations
with the stakeholders. It is possible that further
advancements can be made in this waste stream
with the right levers for change.
There are particular problems with changing
behaviour in the SME sector. SMEs and the
smaller waste generators are more likely to have
less knowledge of their waste production and
management and will simply have opted for the
cheapest collection service available, or simply
utilise the services of a waste management
company they are familiar with or have had
recommended. It is then entirely dependent
upon the services offered by that waste
management company in terms of the options
for managing the waste generated. There is
little or no incentive for SMEs to make the
necessary investment in alternative waste
management options, particularly in relation to
152
Waste Strategy 2000
153
Waste Strategy 2000
154
For example, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden
time and resources, to bring about a change in
waste practices.
As individual organisations, SMEs may be
producing low levels of waste, but collectively
they will be contributing a significant quantity
to landfill for disposal. This could pose
significant problems in the future if the UK is
forced to readdress its definition of Municipal
Solid Waste, which is contrary to the definition
in use by a number of European countries, who
include a significant quantity of commercial
waste from SMEs and other small producers.
Currently, no incentive exists for local authorities
to target commercial operations for the
recovery of materials. However there is potential
for combining paper and cardboard collections
from household sources with business parks &
trading estates: thus potentially making
household recyclables collection more
economically viable. This is done in other
nations such as the Netherlands and should be
considered here.
The use of tools such as mandatory
environmental reporting (currently a voluntary
initiative) could be considered as an approach
to changing behaviour within the business
sector. In 2000, the Government set a policy to
encourage the top 350 companies to report on
their environmental performance by the end of
2001. 153 However the response from business
and industry to date has been limited. A
number of other European countries 154 have
implemented mandatory environmental
reporting aimed at specific sectors or companies
of a certain size. Clear guidelines would need to
be established as to the content and specifically
the waste management element of the report, if
it is to have the desired effect of changing
waste management practices. The intention is
that with the publishing of an environmental
report, a company becomes more aware of its