Planning waste management and recycling for all waste generated by an organisation can be a daunting and enormous task which will require logistical planning, knowledge of legislation and a more in-depth understanding in order to balance environmental and economic benefits. This task quite often will fall with the energy manager for the organisation, if there is no sustainability person or team. The session gives a brief introduction on principles of waste management and relevant legal issues and gives practical guidance on how to set up waste management and recycling for your organisation.

1. Practical Approach to
Waste Management
Vassia Paloumbi
Energy Manager/Independent Consultant/Green Goddess
Gemma Birley
Director, Green Finch Environmental Consulting

2. What is waste?
• Waste is unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance which is discarded after primary use,
or is worthless, defective and of no use
• Examples include municipal solid waste (household rubbish), hazardous waste, wastewater (including
sewage and surface runoff) and radioactive waste
• Sometimes it is difficult to define
• Business waste (trade, commercial or industrial waste) is any material disposed of by any organisation,
whether for profit or not and whether public or private
• Organisational waste is classed as controlled waste
Examples of business waste materials include:
• Used packaging
• Discarded food
• Discarded electrical equipment
• Construction/ demolition waste

3. Why waste management makes sense
• Legal compliance and reputation
• Cost of waste disposal: usually 4-5% of
turnover, sometimes as high as 10%
• High/ increasing cost of new materials
• Environmental protection: pollution,
carbon reduction
• Customer/ public interest
• Circular Economy: waste as a resource

4. Legal responsibility
As an organisation, you have a legal duty of care to ensure that you produce, store, transport
and dispose of your organisation’s waste without harming the environment or human health
This includes:
 Following the waste hierarchy
 Storing waste safely and securely to prevent pollution
 Keeping different types of waste separate
 Using registered waste carriers
 Checking environmental permits for waste sites
 Completing waste transfer and hazardous waste consignment notes
 Keeping records
 Specific requirements for packaging, WEEE and batteries

5. Waste collection
Transfer waste to registered carriers
https://environment.data.gov.uk/public-register/view/search-waste-carriers-brokers

6. Waste hierarchy

7. Reduce and Reuse
Building projects: refurbish/ reuse materials
Catering: minimising disposables and surplus food
Paper reduction: electronic processes, double-sided
etc
Supplier engagement e.g. reducing/ reusing
packaging, consolidating shipments
Reuse schemes e.g. Globechain, Warp It, Free Cycle,
Ebay, Swapshops
Local / chosen charities
Office furniture (donate or redesign)
Electrical equipment repair
Stationery sharing/ reuse days

8. Setting up a working scheme: internal
Identify your waste streams
Different strategies for different areas (kitchens, back of house, offices, visitor areas,
loading bays, engineering workshops)
Start with minimum two bin system (general waste and recycling)
Add further segregation for e.g. paper/ confidential waste, food

9.  Match inside with outside
 Consider ad hoc waste e.g. electricals, batteries, hazardous wastes
 One size does not fit all: consider purpose and cost (number of bins and collections
required)
 Consider:
Different size bins
Compactors
Skips
Balers
Specialised containers
Digesters!!!
Setting up a working scheme: back of house and external

10. Going further with recycling
Comingled vs separated: paper, card, aluminium, plastics
Confidential waste!!!
Coffee cups
Food waste
Coffee grounds
Cardboard (free?)
Pallets (free?)
Textiles

11. Tips: Location & Practicalities
Take away personal bins
Create cluster of bins centrally, near
to where waste is produced
Use the same colour bags and bins
Avoid black bags if possible
Don't be pedantic!
Don’t accept double-standards

12. Tips: Communications
 Always use informative signage, with pictures
 Train housekeeping staff and other teams
involved with waste
 Use other media: intranet articles, funny
videos, recycling awareness days
 Bust the myths: recycling does make a
difference!
 Share and celebrate progress
 Competitions between teams
Don’t underestimate the power of containers
and signage!
Assume everyone knows what to do
Penalise/ name and shame
Green wash

13. Tips: Measuring & monitoring
Sad but true: you can’t manage what you can’t measure!
Carry out regular audits and bin checks
 Identify bin monitors/ green champions
 Ask your waste collector for data
Create a waste register
Set realistic targets
 Waste reduction
 60 - 70% recycling rate
 Zero to landfill
Communicate results to encourage ongoing improvement
Consider formalising through an Environmental Management
System (EMS)

14. If you look you will find

15. Resources
• Training: Waste Management Course EMA, Green Finch, CIWM
• Awards: Green Apple, Clean City, MRW national recycling awards
• Certification: Carbon Trust Standard – waste, zero to landfill

16. Thank you
Vassia Paloumbi
vpaloumbi@hotmail.com
Gemma Birley
Green Finch Environmental Consulting
gemma@green-finch.co.uk

17. Waste collection
Non-hazardous waste:
Waste transfer note
Keep records for two years
Hazardous waste:
Hazardous waste consignment note
Consignee returns
Keep records for three years
https://portal.edoconline.co.uk/register

18. Storing waste
Store waste safely and securely to
prevent pollution:
Secure containers – covered, waterproof,
inaccessible to public
Labelled with waste type
On impermeable ground
Away from drains/ watercourses
Bunds/ barriers around liquid wastes to
contain spills and leaks
Regular checks for leaks, spills or other
potential risks
Separate storage for:
Hazardous and non-hazardous waste
Different types of hazardous waste