At the start of the year, significant new waste regulations came into force affecting businesses across the UK. In a bid to meet European Union (EU) environmental targets, legislation on waste management and collections is set to become increasingly stringent. Jo Williams, Head of FM accounts at leading waste management services provider, Biffa, outlines the key waste and recycling issues for FM professionals.
A European Waste Framework
Since 1st January 2015, UK waste regulations have required businesses that recycle to fully segregate their waste into general waste and recyclables in a bid to improve the quantity and quality of recycling materials. This latest change is in line with the commitments set out in the EU Waste Framework Directive, which requires all Member States to implement measures to ensure four key waste materials – paper/card, metals, glass and plastic – are collected separately from other waste for recycling.
A key element of these new regulations is that it is the legal responsibility of waste collection companies and authorities – rather than the businesses who produce the waste – to ensure appropriate arrangements are made to facilitate separate collection.
UK Variation
While these new UK regulations affecting England, Wales and Northern Ireland do not legally require the waste producer to segregate materials, those in Scotland do.
The ‘Zero Waste Scotland’ legislation, which came into effect in January 2014, imposed regulations on the producer of the waste to segregate recyclables, meaning Scottish businesses must carry out segregated recycling by law.
This has sent out a very firm message in Scotland on the importance of recycling and diverting waste from landfill however, some in the industry lament that a similar approach has not yet been adopted in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has also been actively enforcing the policy, conducting audits on businesses to ensure they are complying.
Although businesses across the rest of the UK are currently not legally required to segregate their waste in the same way – only waste collectors are subject to the legislation – it is likely that more onus will be pushed onto the producer in the near future.
TEEP
While the European Waste Framework Directive sets out clear requirements on dealing with waste, these only apply where it is ‘Technically, Environmentally and Economically Practicable’ – TEEP.
This means that where the collection of segregated waste materials would involve excessive costs, additional emissions from transport (from a waste collector having to travel long distances to pick it up), or another associated technical complication, it is not necessary to comply with the legislation.
To ensure that collections meet these TEEP requirements, the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has produced a handy route map. External waste management partners can also offer advice on this.
What do the changes mean for FM companies?
There are a number of key considerations that those operating in the FM sector should bear in mind in light of the recent changes.
Cost
FM professionals who have waste management services as part of their Soft FM or Total FM contracts need to be aware of the possible cost implications that these legislative changes may bring.
Increased segregation of a facility’s recyclable waste streams could lead to additional costs. This is important to consider, particularly where FM contracts are priced as a whole package, with waste being just one part, typically five per cent of the total FM costs.
Environmentally friendly
Many clients are increasingly driven by environmental targets and are therefore asking more of their FM professionals to ensure they provide the most carbon efficient and environmentally positive solution.
Waste is moving higher up the agenda in FM tenders, and while it remains a small expense in comparison to cleaning, catering or security costs, the green credentials associated with effective waste management are strong – good news for a business’ top line.
Educating employees
One of the challenges faced by FMs is making sure that both their own cleaning staff and client employees working on the sites are informed of the recycling solutions available to them.
Training cleaning staff is key as they are generally the people who are transferring the waste from internal bins to the external containers. Therefore, they need to ensure that the correct bags are used internally and then transferred into the correct external container.
In addition, a knowledge of what can and cannot be recycled and how to maximise capacity in the external bins is vital, i.e. breaking down cardboard boxes to ensure there is more space and to avoid unnecessary collections.
A changing legislative landscape
As the legislative landscape around waste management and recycling continues to shift in line with the EU drive to become more environmentally friendly, it’s important for FM professionals to be aware of current and upcoming changes and how these are likely to affect clients.
