Part 2: "The scramble for zero-waste-to-landfill; golden goose or albatross?

  The second part of our series "The scramble for zero-waste-to-landfill", by Tim Reed, MD of Waste Efficiency Ltd.

From Motivation to Maximisation…

Now that we’ve tackled the motivation behind embarking on a zero land fill quest, and looked at why a strategy is so essential - the next stage is to develop that utterly methodical and pragmatic strategy.

Of course, by now you’ll have made all the decisions as to the rules of the game and a budget in place sufficient to finance the project from start to finish, so the next task is for your newly formed team is to get to grips with what’s required for your strategy.

The structure of the strategy will be very much determined by the type of business involved. Smaller or single site organisations will inevitably be more straightforward than complex multisite organisations.   But the following key sections should be present in all zero landfill strategies:

 

1)         Analysis and Characterisation of Waste

This is fundamental and can be a substantial task in itself - it will take a full article to cover this subject alone!

The strategy will need to identify the scale of the task and assign team members to this complicated and unpleasant process.

Where multisite operations are concerned it will be necessary to identify a representative sample of sites to analyse. Data concerning volumes of waste disposed and materials recycled will need to be collected from waste management companies and collated.

For large organisations this will be a major task that will require allocating to team members.

Your waste management contractors should be able to provide accurate data on the volumes of materials they have removed from your site(s). If they cannot, seriously consider changing them.

As this task is the bedrock on which the strategy will succeed or fail, it should be given a high priority, and must be assigned a realistic timescale with frequent review meetings to assess progress.

2)  Evaluate and define opportunities for waste fraction elimination/reduction

The next part of the strategy will cover the analysis of the data.  This is where you can identify the quick wins -  those glittering moments where a small amount of effort will make substantial steps forward.   Very good for morale, so don’t forget to add them into the “promotional” element of your strategy!

This evaluation will categorise remaining waste into two streams;

- those where there are currently available routes for disposal but with logistical or capacity issues to overcome in order to be viable and

- those where there is no obvious current route for non landfill disposal.

It is this last category that will inevitably present you with the greatest challenges and will probably test the resolve of the team. It is in this area of the project that professional help can be invaluable.

3) Define Segregation Methods

A key part of delivering the project will be identifying and instigating a reliable and effective means of segregating the waste into fractions. The methods and execution will need to be clearly defined in the strategy.

4) Identify Waste Storage Areas

Segregated waste will almost certainly mean more storage space. The strategy should include means to identify potential waste storage areas at all relevant sites.

5) Infrastructure Analysis

The strategy will need to provide for a detailed analysis of the recycling infrastructure available to the company. Judgements will need to be made over how far the waste will travel to be processed. The following facilities are amongst those that should be included in the study:

• Material Recycling Facilities (MRF’s)
• Paper mills
• Polythene recyclers and plastics re-grinders
• Wood recyclers and pallet companies
• Anaerobic digestion facilities (existing and planned)
• Energy from waste plants
• Scrap metal processors

6) Supply Chain Waste Management

One of the best ways of reducing landfill, particularly where the most ‘difficult’ materials are concerned is to prevent them being brought into the company in the first place.

A detailed and properly resourced strategy to review the supply chain and liaise with suppliers on waste reduction is a crucial element of the strategy.

7) Define and Document Publicity & Promotion Schedule

In order to be successful the objective of the project and the progress made will need to be clearly communicated throughout the organisation. A detailed communications strategy will therefore be required to run alongside your waste management strategy.  With a correctly worked through strategy, there’s no reason why you cannot encourage external promotion on your activities too, particularly the quick wins.

8) Time Plan

Once the strategies for reducing land filled wastes have been agreed they will need to be pulled together into a coherent chronological plan which should be published widely within the organisation with regular progress updates.   It is only at this stage in the strategy that you can propose a date with any confidence; knowing that it’s realistic, reasonable and justified - giving your organisation the best possible chance at both positive publicity and ultimate carbon reduction success.

 

This article, now in two parts,  first appeared in the January 2010 edition of Facilities Management, published by LexisNexis.

Waste Efficiency is based in Worcester, but covers the UK.  Clients include major organisations, local government and retail sectors.