Less wasted when leaving the pub

A new initiative by the Waste Resource & Action Programme (WRAP) that aims to improve recycling services for small to medium sized enterprises has been launched. Joseph White reports on the success of the programme so far

Pubs, cafes and restaurants do not have a great track record when it comes to sustainably disposing of rubbish. But thanks to a new recycling programme for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), initiated by WRAP, funded by Defra, and involving more than 40 recycling companies across the UK, business wastefulness might just become a thing of the past.

The term SME covers a wide range of businesses, ranging from catering and hospitality to small offices, and the staff force may range from anywhere between one and 250. Recycling has, historically, been difficult for SMEs for a number of practical reasons. At the smaller end of the scale, it is unlikely there will be anyone employed by the company who is dedicated to the job of waste management. Such a business also typically generates a relatively low volume of waste, so that it may not be cost effective for them to individually organise specialist waste collections. In addition, there is often a lack of space for different types of waste to be stored for collection.

On top of this, businesses within the catering industry were all but paralysed by the introduction of the Animal By-Products Regulations in 2003. However, the landfill tax escalator has risen sufficiently since then to make the economics of disposal less favourable, and this has encouraged businesses to look at alternative options.

This is the backdrop for the WRAP-supported initiative, the SME Recycling Programme. Its aim is to improve waste services for SMEs, making recycling easy, convenient and cost effective. With these businesses producing large quantities of waste, much of which is recyclable, it is projected that the SME Programme will help outlets make a significant contribution to the recycling business in their community.

A series of trials were, therefore, developed by WRAP to evaluate a range of factors involved in SME recycling collections, including: geographical location, collection and communication techniques, and financial models. The first set of trials, the Phase I Feasibility Trials, investigated whether the concept of SME recycling was worth pursuing. It covered five sectors of SMEs: the hospitality sector - which includes pubs, cafes and restaurants, as well as kebab shops, bars, and anyone else involved in food production - retail, wholesale, office, and window replacement and glazing sectors.

Phase II of the feasibility trials are still in progress, and will finish at the end of June. They are designed to expand on the first trials, and produce a set of good practice models for the recycling service. They cover three main sectors of SMEs: the Construction sector, Location Specific Recycling Services (for example on Industrial Estates and Business Parks), and Food Waste for the Hospitality Sector.

Keen to improve SMEs waste services, a number of recycling companies took part in the trials, including: Adur and Worthing Services, Axion recycling, CESHI, ECT Recycling, EMERGE Recycling, Energywise Recycling Ltd, Kerbside (Calderdale), LEEP Recycling, Moray Waste Busters, Oxford City council and Paper Round.

ECT Recycling rolled out a glass collection for the hospitality sector in Warwickshire as part of the first phase of the trials, and is currently trialling food waste collections for the hospitality sector in Bristol and Bath as part of phase II.

Like many other community recyclers, ECT had previously focused on collecting from residential buildings. With the launch of the new SME recycling programme, focusing on a previously untapped area of the recycling industry, the company hopes to expand the business even further. With support from WRAP, it has provided around 85 commercial catering businesses across Bristol and Bath with a collection service for food waste, and hopes to increase that number to 125. Their service involves the provision of wheeled bins and biodegradable bin liners, and a weekly or a twice-weekly collection service picking up the waste from the doorstep using rear-end loading lorries. The bins come in two sizes, either 140 litres, for which the company charges £5 per lift, or 240 litres, for which the company charges £8 per lift. Once collected, the waste is sent to a compost plant called Wormtech, in Caerwent, Wales. In this way, ECT managed to divert nearly 31 tonnes of food waste from landfill within the first three months of phase II.

Despite considerable differences in the requirements of each company in the materials to be collected, Steve Thorne, General Manager of ECT Commercial, is positive about how things are going. "We believe the service will make a real difference to local companies who want to recycle more, as well as to the local environment," he said.

According to WRAP, results from the trials have been encouraging. Liz Morrish, WRAP's SME Recycling Programme Manager, praised the scheme: "Recycling at work is easy to do and this new service will make it even easier for businesses. It's also a cost-effective way for SMEs to deal with their waste, often being cheaper than general waste disposal.

"Recycling helps reduce clutter and improves the working environment. It also produces a feel good factor. Our research shows that employee moral was boosted by recycling, with 82 per cent of businesses saying that their staff needed no encouragement to recycle at work, and over a third of businesses stating that recycling had improved their reputation in the local community."

The Recycling programme is now moving on to its third stage of operations, the demonstration trials. These will cover glass collection for the hospitality sector, paper plus card collections, and mixed materials from businesses.

Other recycling companies are also starting to appreciate the market potential of SMEs, independent of WRAP's recycling program. Elsewhere in the Westcountry, for example, Groundwork and Mid-Devon Community Recycling are now providing SMEs with advice and support in 'going green'.   Meanwhile, London-based The Laundry, set up just over three years ago to specialise in recycling waste from small offices, already has over 1,000 customers.

The UK has fallen behind many of its European counterparts, especially when it comes to biodegradable waste. The Landfill Directive has inevitably begun to force a change in our culture, with heavy fines now only just round the corner. By 2010 we have to reduce the biodegradable municipal waste being sent to landfill to 75 per cent of its 1995 levels, and to 35 per cent by 2020. As waste from restaurants and pubs can be counted in the municipal waste stream, finding sustainable alternatives to landfill for these businesses is set to become an ever more vital piece of the jigsaw.