Plastic Expert are back once again to tackle one of the larger and more poignant questions that pops up in the recycling and waste management industry — ‘How far does your recycled waste travel?’

This question is often raised as a consideration when discussing how good for the environment recycling is, whether the carbon footprint of recycling something can truly be kept to a minimum, or whether the industry is doing enough to realise the ‘green potential’ of transporting recycled goods.

The carbon footprint of collections

Few people or organisations regularly discuss the vast amount of variables and conditions which can drastically affect the carbon footprint of collections. In this post, we are going to look at six different things which can seriously increase or decrease not only how far your recycled waste travels, but how likely it is to be recycled efficiently, and how large or small its carbon footprint could be.

1) Aggregate recycled waste with fewer vehicles

The more vehicles that are required to collect waste, the poorer the environmental performance, as more road mileage and fuel are required. Many businesses have the ability to coalesce all of their recyclable materials into one regular collection, but instead they suffer, due to having various contracts with different providers for different bins and different materials. Their approach to waste management and handling will have a sky-high carbon footprint by comparison.

By using fewer waste collectors, vehicle movements will be much lower, and it’s likely they can account for the different materials and even provide an adequately sized vehicle so that space is not wasted. You’ll also pay less by negotiating a larger single contract with one provider.

Your new waste management company must be licensed and prepared to collect various materials or material grades in a single collection, being careful to keep them separated as to avoid an unnecessary second sorting process further along the line.

2) Mixed bins and a lack of compacting

It’s easy to overlook the considerable potential of baling and compacting, but what’s even easier to miss is that having a range of differently sized bins is increasing your waste management costs. If you have three small bins for the same waste type, you will be paying more than having one large bin that equates to the same amount of volume. By unifying the size of containers throughout your estate, the same collection vehicle will be able to lift and empty all of the bins with relative ease.

Paying for bins and not utilising every inch of space inside each bin is also causing an added expense to your company. If, for example, you have three bins, all full of loose material, and you instead baled all of that material, you would now only be using one bin, and the other two would be empty, meaning no collection fees. This would allow you to reduce your costs for these bins to just one third. More recycled waste per bin, per collection means a lower carbon footprint for the items collected, thanks to sharing the load better.

3) Back-loads and national networks

Quite often, when a logistics company collects waste and takes it somewhere else, they then empty their lorry and drive it back to where they came from. Of course, this is poor logistics, as the best way to utilise the lorry is to fill it up again after the goods have been delivered, and send it back to where it came from with those new goods. This means it’s never driving around empty, but it may not always be possible. Due to technology and national networks of hauliers however, this is becoming a very normal occurrence, and as such, backloading can do wonders for your carbon footprint.

As well as being better for the environment, backloading allows for new relationships to be built, increases the flow of materials, is much cheaper than dedicated runs and will allow for fewer opportunities to be missed.

4) National network of recycling hubs

An audited and verified network of recycling hubs is a sign of progression and intent from both the recycling and the logistics industry, signalling a huge change in how recycling will be handled in future. As the option of a large national network of recycling hubs becomes more viable, the need for sending materials long distances to ensure they get recycled is decreasing.

Factories and end users are becoming increasingly more likely to work with UK companies who have a better coverage of material around the UK, rather than those who function in pockets or exclusive areas. The network system allows independent recyclers to have greater versatility through partnerships.

5) What happens to material when it arrives at a recycling hub?

It’s all well and good having the availability of recycling hubs, but if you don’t consider the implications of what happens to material upon arrival, you’re missing the bigger picture. It’s often upon arrival and review that the material’s fate is sealed. Questions will be asked, the grade will be verified and one of the first things on the mind of the handler will be ‘Can we recycle this in the UK, or does it need to go to Europe, or Asia?’.

UK processing is advantageous — you keep the material in the circular economy, avoid shipping costs and can often get a very good price with a lower environmental implication. However, recycling is a demand and supply market, and sometimes the best demand is in China, which means your recycled waste will be loaded up on a container and sent more than 11,000 nautical miles across the high seas.

See more: Want to know the full route of plastic recycling in such interesting detail that our story was featured on the front page of The Environmentalist? Click here.

6) The final piece of the recycled waste jigsaw puzzle

On the face of things, sending recycled waste to China looks like a mismanagement of resources, but that’s a misconception. With over a billion people and a booming economy, the Chinese have a huge need for plastic waste that can be recycled into cheap goods, meaning the products that will be made from the waste will usually stay in China. Of course, it depends on the factory and the remanufacturing, and of course many cheap goods end up back in Europe, but it certainly makes sense to do things in this direction.

China not only has the facilities to recycle the waste and remanufacture it, but it has the market to sell these things. The same is not always true in Europe. We try to keep different types and grades of plastics within the European market because they offer different uses. PolyPropylene (PP) that Plastic Expert collect and enter into the market is often turned into flower pots, buckets and containers which are popular in the European market, and so never need to go to the Far East.

Our primary aim is to support the environment, to make sure as much is recycled as possible, and with as little carbon footprint as possible, whilst making responsible returns on our operations. Our secondary aim with materials is to support the UK market, then European, and then Asian, but it’s not always that simple, as this document has outlined. Tertiary aims include lifting the overall quality of the market, educating competitors and supporting the introduction of new recycling markets and increased competition.

Conclusion

Carbon footprint issues are on the lips of many experts and professionals in the waste management and recycling industry, but many don’t really know what to say. Finding opportunities to reduce carbon footprint without increasing expenditure do exist and are viable, with Plastic Expert being one of the modernised companies who explore these opportunities on a daily basis.

We do this both for progression, and to be able to pass cost savings onto our valued customers and partners. The better we can practice our eco-friendly recycling mantras, the more likely it will be that our waste-producing competitors will be encouraged to set their sails for a greener future too.

Why do you need an Intern?

The first thing I ask a business when they are about to employ an intern is ‘what’s your intent?’ i.e. what exactly are you looking to achieve from employing a young person with minimal experience that’s willing to trade off their time for experience, learning and understanding a market place?

Intent is everything here, if a business is looking for a ‘cheap person to help out for the short-medium term’, then it’s unlikely to work out. Farming out boring or mundane jobs, making tea/coffee or being a general office skivvy, does not constitute a proper internship. The chances are, your business could benefit from an outsourced or virtual assistant type service, rather than an internship programme.

On the flip side, the right internship opportunity, with the right intent, can be a brilliant way for a business to bring in the next layer of talent. The most important consideration at the start of this process is to identify the job opportunity in the short, medium and long term. These stages can be broken down into the following:

• Why does the business need an intern?
• Which activities would the intern be doing on a weekly basis?
• How will success be measured?
• Who will train and develop the intern? Will there be external training in addition to the development from an existing team? (a marketing intern may need additional resources such as SEO guidance, social media training. A useful resource for this is Lynda.com — well worth a look!)
• Is there a genuine long term opportunity for full time employment after the internship period?

As a side note, I have found that the most successful internship period is 12 months.

Hiring an Intern

Developing a new person from scratch is often more time consuming than hiring someone with experience. It does require your daily attention as a business leader, and before choosing the internship option, your schedule must adapt accordingly. Some companies will have existing management in place to help share this investment of time; be sure to plan each week’s activities and give constant feedback. Challenges or misunderstandings should not wait to be resolved at monthly meetings, instead, deal with them as they crop up. Fast feedback and redirection are critical in achieving the desired outcome for both parties.

You must be aware that an intern has chosen to be an intern, as much as you have chosen to hire them as such. They are there to learn and gain transferable skills that will improve their CV and chances of full time employment. However, just because they are an intern, try not to make them feel like an intern. Give them a title, treat them respectfully and put them in the best frame of mind and working atmosphere to show how talented and determined they are.

Make sure the plan you curate for interns allows them time for guidance and time for freedom; both parties won’t learn how valuable the intern is until they have a chance to prove it. For small businesses, one extra brain can bring in a whole heap of great ideas, so as much as you share and teach the intern, be sure to listen to the knowledge they can picked up on the way.

PEOPLE

Employees

In our domestic lives, recycling is a common day-to-day activity; we separate our plastics, cardboard and glass without really thinking about it. So when staff go to work, they expect the same practice to go on. Even if many people don’t consider the ins-and-outs of recycling, they know for sure that it is beneficial. To the staff who work in your business, seeing that research and development is ongoing will add job security and pride in their workplace.

Customers

Customers want more transparency than ever before with the companies they buy from; they want to know who recycles, who pollutes, who is ethical, who is responsible and who is sustainable? Including recycling in your Corporate Social Responsibility reports will show customers that you consider ethical waste management methods and a belief in being a socially progressive company. To get started, you will need some reliable and advanced recycling equipment. Recent research has proven that when prices are on a similar level, the competition is no longer financial, but ethical. Companies and brands should shout about the Corporate Social Responsibility work they are doing, so that if a consumer dilemma arises, they will come out victorious.

PLANET

Environment

This may be a little obvious, but it’s worth pointing out the facts. When waste goes to landfill, something called acidic leachate seeps out of the plastic matrix and it’s toxic nature leads to groundwater pollution. The other alternative, incineration, is far worse, as it emits things like chlorine and toxic ash into the the air for a tiny amount of calorific energy. It has been demonstrated that recycling plastics, like PET (most commonly plastic bottles) can save 26 times as much energy as the energy gained from being incinerated. You might as well burn money. There is a lot of transport involved in recycling, but the carbon footprint remains smaller than incineration, and less environmentally damaging than landfills.

Circular Economy

It’s a phrase that seems to crop up more and more often nowadays, and for good reason too. A circular economy is many things, but in a general sense of the term, it is a flow of materials. Recycling is key to that flow as it takes outgoing materials, cleans them, performs several processes on them, and then enters them back into the economy as new materials. This is great for CSR, mentioning that you are keen to support a circular economy. The benefits of this support will be movement towards more cost effective and efficient packaging. Currently there are several studies going on to determine how the circular economy can be improve with changes in materials and recycling methods.

PROFIT

After people and planet, comes profit. Recycling as a business will make you money, but not just from an increase in customers and a potentially happier and more efficient workforce. Did you know that your waste has a value? If sorted properly, and stored in mass for collection, money can be made by selling the resources on. This additional income could be enough to take on another member of staff, whose job role has been created through CSR, which is good CSR. You see how this works well?

Good Business Practice

If it’s good for your staff, your customers, your carbon footprint, your coffers and your sustainable future, then surely it makes good business sense to recycle. Showing that your CSR includes recycling is just one of many ways that you can highlight to stakeholders and business partners that the business is progressive and sustainable. Why pay for disposal when you can sell for collection? It’s an indication that the business is being run efficiently in all departments.

Image

It’s a major reason that CSR exists in the first place, but maintaining a good public image is absolutely vital. If you look friendly, attractive and caring, you will have more support than looking aggressive, unattractive and ignorant. The same rules apply for people, so your business should act in a humane way, and recycling is just one way that this can be done. Working with a recycling partner, who will even help to promote your great CSR for investing in their recycling equipment can help. Image is the front door to your business, and it’s up to a business’ code of ethics to ensure that they exist in an appealing way.

How much does your company engage in Corporate Social Responsibility?

How do you measure your current recycling rates?

My email title reads, as I use another few bytes of roaming data from Barcelona airport…. I won’t be coming back today however. Due to a security incident at London Luton airport Easyjet had to cancel flights to the UK.

The irony of standing in the speedy boarding queue for 40 minutes makes me chuckle, resigning myself to another night in this incredible city. All be it in a hotel of their choice, probably on the edge a motorway or something. (i am here now as I post this, i was right… for once)

Delayed flights are an emotive situation for many, some shouting and others boasting how their going to get ‘wrecked’ in the airport bar, insisting the airline will pay the f**king bill. We all react in different ways, many have family or work commitments and others see it as an opportunity to have a moan, typically updating Facebook statuses or tweeting their ‘misery’.

One thing this situation does bring us is ‘More time’ — how often do we all say ‘I have no time for *insert procrastination here*. This could be a perfect opportunity to get on with that ‘thing’ you’ve been putting off.

My thing i’ve been putting off is this ever growing social platform, if you can even call it that?! Maybe a blog or journal is more accurate.

I want to write more.

I want to be better at communicating, to myself and others.

Can i commit to a journal entry every day? Anything i possible. I am so glad GCSE in English Literature will help me through writing challenges. A grade E is surely a starting point, for improvement maybe.

Buenas Noches x

Whether you’re starting your very first business or are a serial entrepreneur, choosing the right business partner is probably the most important decision you’ll make. Although you’ll never find perfection, it is important that you understand exactly how the relationship will work. Things rarely plan out the way you intend throughout the life-time of a company, however, considering some of these points should allow you to make a more informed decision.

1) Do you really need a partner?

Starting a business or organization can be a daunting prospect, especially for those who have not done it before. Much of the time we may consider a business partner as a support mechanism to talk through problems, challenges, ideas and strategies. This is a fundamental requirement for any partner in life, however; do you need a business partner or a mentor? It may be more suitable to have someone to correspond with on a weekly/monthly basis.

Know exactly what you need from your potential partner. As the old saying goes ‘If you don’t ask, you don’t get’. Be specific and explain how you see someone else working along side you, perhaps it’s for their experiences, skills, funding or marketing knowledge.

There’s nothing wrong with being at the helm alone, providing you have support in the way of a mentor or advisor.

2) Filling in the blanks

Identify your areas of strength and weakness, I would suggest writing these down on two pieces of paper. You need somebody who’s going to compensate for your weaknesses. For example, if your weakness is networking, sales, or face-to-face interaction, then you’d better partner up with someone who has those abilities. It’s fine to have some areas that are not compensated for but having the same strengths and weaknesses could mean you end up avoiding critical activities.

3) Vision, ethics and morals

Sharing the same vision is very important; does your potential partner see the purpose of your business as you do? Do you agree on where the business is headed and the culture you wish to create within the organisation?

Another important decision is your own ethics and morals. How do you stand on customer service, delivering promises and how suppliers are treated, for example?

4) Commitment

In my opinion, this is one of the most important aspects. Does this person have the same level of commitment that you do? Are they prepared to do everything it takes to make your business work? Excitement and good intentions will flow at the start of new relationships but be honest with each other. How much time can you commit? Do they have a family, other business interests, distractions or other issues? Whilst most people have other commitments in their lives, does your future business partner have the same work ethic and drive as you?

5) Financial situation

Most people set up their first business whilst still relying on an income from another source. This is sensible and allows anybody to make the transition between employee to business owner.

What’s your future partner’s financial situation? Are they heavily in debt or do they have savings? How much are you prepared to invest into the new business and will they match you? What’s their personal overhead each month and how much are you going to pay yourselves?

6) Get it in writing

It’s so important to have everything in writing, often when this is done it allows you to trash out any points which are unclear. There should be some caveats within the agreement, which allows you to part company further down the line things don’t work out. Not every relationship lasts but this needn’t destroy the business.

Think carefully about choosing a business partner, it’s a marriage of sorts. Can you rely on this person completely? Do you have ultimate trust? Think through you decision wisely and then jump in with joy and ambition!