WRAP, or Waste & Resources Action Programme, is a not for profit company backed by government funding from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It has published its review of the year 2009/10.

Some snippets:

(i): Research highlights an estimated 18.4 million tonnes of waste is generated each year from the point of manufacture through to households. This represents total losses of £17 billion per year.

(ii): New Anaerobic Digestion facility open in Staffordshire. This facility will divert over 30,000 tonnes of food waste from landfill, reduce methane emissions from decomposing food and generate enough renewable energy to supply more than 1,300 homes.

(iii): Following a formal review of evidence, WRAP notes that kerbside sort collection schemes deliver reliable quality material at a lower net cost than single stream co-mingled collections.

(iv): An update to the 2006 ‘Environmental Benefits of Recycling’ report reviews evidence from around the world and concludes that recycling is preferable for the materials covered in the review.

On 1^st April, WRAP became the lead body for resource efficiency in England, drawing together the work of six other delivery programmes. This would not only provide a more integrated service to their customers but will save £10 million.

At the moment, as with many other pre-Coalition Government plans, where WRAP will go next is unknown.

A media release July 2010 from the Local Government Association intimated that Britain will run out of landfill space in less than eight years.

There is much that businesses can do now to impact on their waste disposal costs.

Inaction and waiting for reviews and policy decisions will simply see good money following bad.

First of all, find out what regulations are applicable to your organisation – you don’t want to be hit with a fine for non-compliance. Did you know that all waste has to be accompanied by a waste transfer note (WTN), that it’s your responsibility to produce the WTN (although most carriers will produce one for you) and that you must keep copies for two years? Did you know that all waste producers are required to “pre-treat” some of your waste before it goes to landfill? Do you know what “pre-treatment” entails?

Once you know how regulations affect your organisation, work out what waste you have. A good start is to walk around your premises and look to see what is in the bins. It really is worth a look, because the contents are not always as expected.

Armed with this information, consider whether you can change your processes to reduce the amount of waste produced. This is likely to reduce the volume of materials purchased as well as waste disposal costs, resulting in a cost reduction double-whammy. If you reduce the amount of packaging you use, it could also reduce your requirement to purchase PRNs – a cost reduction hat trick!

Then consider what elements of your waste can be recycled. Recycling your waste doesn’t necessarily cost more than just sending it to landfill, and will become ever more economically viable as the Landfill Tax continues to increase. Much waste that is recycled also has a value, so recycling can even result in income for your company – even better than cost reduction. Your duty of care obligations can also met by pre-treating your waste in this way.

So, there are plenty of opportunities to reduce cost in waste disposal. If you are unsure of how to tackle this on your own, or would like some expert help, please do get in touch.