Sustainability Report 2009 - The Co-operative

Persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) chemicals Biodiversity Waste and packaging Climate change Ecological sustainability
CFS donations of IT equipment: Items were sent to charities
including Digital Links and NSPCC in 2009.
In 2009, CFS donated/sold for reuse 1,349 items of IT equipment,
including monitors, PCs, laptops and printers equivalent to
15 tonnes. Donated items were sent to charities, such as Digital
Links International and the NSPCC. CFS was the first British business
to participate in a Digital Links International programme to return
donated computer equipment from the developing world to the UK
at the end of its useful life, for safe recycling 30 . In addition, The
Co-operative head office passed 1,187 items, equivalent to 12 tonnes
of IT equipment, to their asset management contractor for reuse.
Recycling waste
Cardboard and polythene
The largest streams of waste that are recycled by The
Co-operative and former Somerfield are cardboard and polythene,
accounting for 87% of the total tonnage of waste reused/recycled
in 2009. The Co-operative Food recycled 33,448 tonnes of
card and polythene in 2009 31 (2008: 34,184 tonnes). Although this
is a slight reduction compared with 2008, it can be accounted for
by the increased use of returnable crates, which has reduced the
amount of cardboard waste generated by stores. In 2009, former
Somerfield recycled 29,802 tonnes of cardboard and polythene.
Packaging
The Co-operative manages compliance with the Producer
Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2007 32
on behalf of much of the UK retail Co-operative Movement. Under
these regulations, The Co-operative is obligated 33 to determine how
much packaging material the Movement passes on to customers
and to produce evidence of a set amount of recycling and recovery
for each of the co-operative societies.
In 2009, The Co-operative entailed obligations in all of the six
material-specific categories: paper (9,920 tonnes), glass
(37,365 tonnes), aluminium (1,343 tonnes), steel (4,163 tonnes),
plastic (7,500 tonnes) and wood (5 tonnes). In addition, it had a
balanced recycling and recovery obligation of 10,580 tonnes 34 .
Former Somerfield also entailed obligations in all of the six
material-specific categories: paper (5,411 tonnes), glass
(18,556 tonnes), aluminium (521 tonnes), steel (2,632 tonnes),
plastic (4,119 tonnes) and wood (37 tonnes) and a balanced
recycling and recovery obligation of 5,882 tonnes. For both The
Co-operative and former Somerfield, these recycling obligations
were met through the purchase of Packaging Recovery Notes
(PRNs), largely from the Valpak compliance scheme.
Electricals
With the introduction of the Waste Electrical and Electronic
Equipment (WEEE) Regulations 35 in January 2007, producers and
retailers in the UK are responsible for financing the environmentally
sound disposal of WEEE. The Co-operative entails obligations as both
a producer and distributor of electrical and electronic equipment.
It is a member of the Valpak producer compliance scheme and
the retailer take-back scheme, which help to ensure it meets the
requirements of the regulations. The former Somerfield estate
entailed obligations as a distributor only, and is a member of the
Valpak retailer take-back scheme 36 . WEEE generated by The
Co-operative’s business activities will be taken back for recovery,
reuse or recycling by suppliers as part of contractual agreements.
In 2009, The Co-operative recycled 1,917 tonnes of WEEE, including
1,884 tonnes of electrical equipment from The Co-operative
Electrical, which were taken back at their end of life from customers;
11 tonnes of IT equipment from CFS; and 22 tonnes of IT equipment
from the Manchester head office complex.
Batteries
The Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations 2009 came
into force on 1 February 2010. The Co-operative Food entails
obligations as a distributor of batteries and is a member of the
Valpak distributor compliance scheme. In line with the requirement
of the regulations, all stores take back any brand of battery
provided it is of a size sold by that store.
Biodegradable waste
Some 95% of animal by-product food waste from The Co-operative
Food (1,136 tonnes) and former Somerfield stores (729 tonnes)
was recovered/recycled in 2009; for example, for use in pet food
and as food for fishing bait 37 .
Investigations into the use of alternative waste management
technologies, such as in-vessel composting and anaerobic digestion
for non-animal by-product food waste from The Co-operative Food,
continued in 2009. These concluded that, due to the relatively small
amount of diverse food waste generated at each branch and the
amount of packaging present, the technologies are not viable for the
business at the present time. As the technologies develop, their use
will be reassessed.
The Co-operative recycling centre
In addition to the recycling obligations placed on The Co-operative
by environmental legislation, office waste continued to be recycled
through the recycling centre based at the Manchester head office
complex. In 2009, the centre recycled a total of 786 tonnes
(2008: 1,431 tonnes) of The Co-operative’s waste 38 . The reduction
in the tonnage recycled at the centre is, in part, due to cans, cups
and bottles now being recycled by the general waste contractor for
head office sites.
Other recycled waste
Additional recycling to that sorted by The Co-operative recycling
centre took place in 2009, including the recycling of:
• 703 tonnes of wood and 2,472 litres of solvent from The
Co-operative Funeralcare.
• 882 tonnes and 704 tonnes of various streams, including paper,
cardboard, cups, cans, bottles, furniture, toner and fluorescent
tubes from CFS and the former Britannia estate respectively.
• 407 tonnes of various streams, including furniture, toner
and fluorescent tubes from the head office buildings.
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The Co-operative Group Sustainability Report 2009