Stakeholder briefing

The overriding themes from the plan are central to all four UK governments’ environmental objectives: to focus on preventing waste occurring in the first place and continuing to recycle, repair and reuse.  Our business plan underlines our commitment to support communities, businesses and individuals wanting to make environmental changes and save money. 

We held an extensive consultation process, gaining important feedback from our funders, members, stakeholders and customers.  We would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for getting involved.

In our plan we set out priorities: minimising resource use in products and buildings and diverting priority materials from landfill.  Our new business plan is based on four guiding principles which endeavour to deliver these priorities.  These principles are:
• preventing waste (working further up the waste hierarchy)
• working in partnership
• being flexible to respond to new directions from our funders
• getting value for money

If you would like to find out more about our focus for the next four years throughout the UK you can read the delivery plans for England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales online. 

We always welcome your feedback and would love to hear what you think of our corporate direction.  Do let us know if you can see an area where we may be able to work together over the next four years; email helen.tipton@wrap.org.uk or telephone 01295 819622.

Founded in 1975 by Sir Peter Parker, the BCE Awards scheme recognises the importance of environmental excellence, innovation and leadership.  The ODA won the most prestigious award and 12 other companies, ranging from SMEs to major PLCs won awards and commendations to recognise their commitment to the environment. 

WRAP continues to support this event, in recognition of businesses who find innovative ways to conserve natural resources and deliver business benefits.

Entries for the 2012 BCE Awards are open until 10 October 2011. Apply by filling in the online application form.  There is no charge to apply or to attend the ceremony.

It’s just over a month now since I announced the details of our new Business Plan at the CIWM Conference in London.

Sharing our plans with so many knowledgeable and innovative members of the waste industry was a great opportunity. And there was plenty of really useful feedback when I spoke to delegates afterwards.

Many welcomed the fact that we had set ourselves such stretching targets. Others questioned whether we’d be able to meet them. And there was consensus that a combination of financial and environmental goals was definitely the right way to measure our success.

The other aspect that really pleased me was the recognition that our plans will help to deliver the resource efficiency ambitions of all four Governments across the UK.

I was also pleased that so many people asked about our new plans to work with the hospitality and textiles sectors. These are huge areas of potential and we’re really excited about the opportunities to make a difference there.

If you have a chance, please take a look at the Business Plan and let me know what you think by posting a comment on our home page.

WRAP continues to divert plastic packaging waste from landfill by working with the whole supply chain: retailers and brands to improve the recyclability of their packaging, materials recovery facilities to improve the quality of plastics recovered, and reprocessors to increase investment in mixed plastics recycling.

The most recent development in the mixed plastics field is the UK’s first fully integrated sorting and washing facility for mixed rigid plastic waste from households such as food trays, margarine tubs and yoghurt pots.  Located at Biffa Polymers’ headquarters, Redcar, this state of the art plant was created with help from WRAP funding and officially opened by Liz Goodwin in March 2011.  By April 2012 the new plant will sort, wash and process up to 20,000 tonnes of mixed rigid plastic packaging to create high quality materials that can be used to manufacture a wide range of products such as plant pots, car parts and kitchenware. 

Going forward the facility will be used as an exemplar plant to promote the commercial and environmental benefits of mixed plastics recycling.

Market Development Director at WRAP, Marcus Gover, who attended the launch, said that the facility was “demonstrating that it is commercially viable to recycle mixed plastics and that there are real end markets for the high value, quality outputs”.

Householders are encouraged to use the Recycle Now website to see if mixed plastic is collected by their local authority.

The European Pathway to Zero Waste (EPOW) is a three-year programme, which seeks to develop a recycling society with a high level of resource efficiency.  The priorities are:
• reducing the amount of waste produced in the first place;
• reusing or recycling as much waste as possible;
• recovering energy from suitable waste streams;
• sending waste to landfill only as a last resort.

EPOW will focus on developing markets and supply chains for sustainable materials as well as providing business support to encourage wise management of waste and resources.  The programme will build on the Pathway to Zero Waste project, which diverted 160,000 tonnes of construction and demolition waste from landfill in its first year alone.  EPOW is a LIFE+ project, part-funded by the European Commission.  Its results and best practice will be shared across the UK and with relevant European regions.

Visit www.environment-agency.gov.uk/epow to find out more.

Recycling - home and away!

Whilst 69% of us are now recycling at home we’re trying to make it easier to recycle when we are out and about.  A new partnership has been formed this year between Recycle Now and the Keep Britain Tidy Campaign (KBT).  For over 50 years, KBT has inspired others to take practical action to tackle litter through ‘Big Tidy Up’ events across the country.  During Recycle Week 2011 (20-26 of June), a new recycling element was tested.  Clear plastic bags were provided as part of the ‘Big Tidy Up’ pack for the collection of plastic bottles and metal cans, keeping these valuable materials separate from litter and out of landfill.  The 32 local authorities taking part in this pilot scheme will report back, highlighting tonnage collected and any collection issues that need to be addressed before extending this to the rest of the country next year.

And this isn’t the only way we are making it easier to recycle away from home.  For those of you lucky enough to go to the Glastonbury Music Festival this year, you might have seen Nouvelle’s promotion around ‘free recycled loo roll’ in support of Recycle Week 2011.  Nouvelle supported this promotion with in-store point-of-sale display material and a full page advert in the Guardian. 

The theme of ‘recycling home and away’ for Recycle Week will continue into next year’s Recycle Week (18 -25 June).  To find out more about Recycle Week and how you can become a Partner, please email Jane.Hall@wrap.org.uk

Recycle Week 2011 was a huge success thanks to support from key partners such as the 32 Local Authorities who participated in the recycling trials with the Tidy-Up Campaign, Nouvelle, Coke, Tesco, Ikea, British Heart Foundation, Recoup, Give a Car Charity, Green Office Week Campaign and Veolia just to name a few!  Visit the Partners Wall on www.recyclenow.com to see how they got involved.

Finally…Recycle Now has a Face Book page so please consider ‘liking us’ as it’s a great way to keep up to date on all the upcoming events.

Metal really does matter!

Whilst more than 95% of local authorities collect most metal packaging, we are only recycling 40% to 50% of this valuable material.

WRAP has joined forces with the Beverage Can Makers Europe (BCME) and partners Novelis Recycling and Tata Steel, to trial new ways of increasing this figure and consequently launched the ‘Metal Matters’ communications campaign.

BCME and WRAP worked with Nuneaton and Bedworth and East Hampshire local authorities throughout the campaign and both authorities reported positive results from the trial. To see the results of the success you can view the full BCME report and read the Nuneaton and Bedworth case study.

Helping the consumer view of packaging

WRAP, The Packaging Federation and INCPEN met back in early 2010 to discuss growing interest from consumers about packaging.  We wanted to respond to the increasing demand from local authorities and their members to create ‘Smart Shopping’ guides that explain how consumers can cut down on the amount of packaging waste they produce and save money.

As a result WRAP and The Packaging Federation have produced five simple leaflets that highlight key packaging facts and debunk some of the myths around packaging.  These leaflets are free to use by all partners and are available on our website. 

Market Information

We have recently published two reports in our series of market situation reports. “Realising the value of recovered wood” looks at the key factors influencing the market for recovered wood in the UK, including trends in supply and demand, legislation, incentives and prices for recovered wood.  Our China 2011 report is an update on the 2009 report on the Chinese markets for recovered paper and plastics – the report reveals continuing strong Chinese demand for recovered paper and plastics, which is leading to a growing impetus for Chinese domestic collections.

In July we published our annual gate fees report which presents a summary of gate fees charged for a range of alternative waste treatment, recovery and disposal options. The report summarises indicative gate fee information and analyses the factors likely to influence future gate fees. The information in the report allows local authorities to make better informed decisions regarding waste management options.

The 2011 report highlights that gate fees at many MRF and AD facilities are now lower than at the time of the previous survey while landfill disposal charges (including the landfill tax) continue to increase.

£10m fund launched for future Anaerobic Digestion (AD) facilities

Defra recently announced the launch of a £10m fund designed to support the development of new AD capacity in England.  The Anaerobic Digestion Loan Fund (ADLF), administered by WRAP, supports the target of diverting 300,000 tonnes of food waste from landfill by 2015.  The ADLF offers financial support to organisations interested in building AD capacity in England.  The development will enable businesses to provide digestate of sufficient quality for a variety of UK markets and to generate renewable energy from food and other organic resources.

Waste Prevention Loan Fund 

WRAP has launched a Loan Fund to help organisations to introduce business models and processes which make more efficient use of material resources through leasing, reuse, repair and upgrading services.  To complement the Loan Fund, WRAP is inviting tenders from businesses seeking help with planning and monitoring Resource Efficient Business Models.  If your company is looking at alternative business models which could reduce your exposure to resource risks, we’d love to hear from you.  Email rnf-rebm@wrap.org.uk

Dairy uses food waste energy to produce award winning yoghurt

Lord Henley officially opened a £3.4m anaerobic digestion (AD) facility at Plymouth based dairy, Langage Farm, this July.  The facility turns food waste from around the county into energy which is used to produce clotted cream, ice cream, crème fraiche and yoghurt.  The farm introduced the AD facility thanks to the £1.2m of funding received from Defra’s Anaerobic Digestion Demonstration Programme, administered by WRAP. 

Supported by the Carbon Trust, the programme is part of the UK wide drive to increase renewable energy, reduce waste sent to landfill and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  By the end of its first year of operation, the AD facility will process 12,000 tonnes of food waste collected from households across the county.  The facility will also process on-farm dairy wastes, converting these fuels into renewable heat and electricity.  The renewable energy will not only power the dairy products production, but also export surplus energy to the National Grid.  In its first five years, the Langage AD facility expects to produce 20,000 MW of energy, saving the equivalent of 2,000 tonnes of CO2 per annum. 

A spokesperson for Langage Farm said: “We are proud to be a part of the solution to local waste problems and hope to see an increase in the uptake of this technology in the future, it really makes sense to use waste as a resource in this way.”

New report highlights water and carbon impact of wasted food

A new report published by the WWF and WRAP identifies for the first time, the water and carbon footprint of wasted household food, both in this country and globally.

The report found that in the UK, water used to produce wasted food was almost twice the annual water consumption of all UK households and generated the equivalent greenhouse gas emissions of seven million cars.

Previous WRAP reports identified that of the 8.3 million tonnes of food and drink thrown away each year, 60% could have been eaten. 

Dr David Tickner, Head of Freshwater Programmes at WWF-UK, said:

“Responsibility for improving the way in which water is managed lies primarily with governments and other stakeholders in affected river basins.  But companies, policy-makers and consumers in the UK can help.  Put simply, wasting less food can, in a small but very significant way, help dry rivers to flow again.”

Liz Goodwin, chief executive at WRAP added:

“We already know that by reducing food waste, householders can save money.  Now it’s absolutely clear that they can make a big contribution to addressing environmental concerns too.”

To find out more read the report.

WRAP at RWM (Recycling and Waste Management) Exhibition, Birmingham, 13-15 September

WRAP experts will be offering free business advice to local authorities, the recycling industry and all organisations interested in becoming more resource efficient at this year’s event.  Senior executives will be joining the RWM seminars and debates to discuss key issues:

* Panel debate: Does quality matter? Is it necessary to create the highest quality recyclate when there is a market for aggregate? Marcus Gover, Director of Closed Loop Economy, WRAP, 13 September.

* Policy Perspectives, Dr Liz Goodwin, CEO, WRAP, 13 September.

* Supporting SMEs to become more resource efficient - the opportunities, challenges and barriers for change. Carl Nichols, Head of Business & Markets, WRAP, 13 September.

* Collections of bulky waste - reuse opportunities and partnership working. Rachel Gray, Programme Area Manager, WRAP, 14 September.

* Panel debate: Delivering the localism agenda on the ground. Nick Gammage, Director of Communications & Community Partnership, WRAP, 14 September.

* European Pathway to Zero Waste. Martyn Cheesbrough, EPOW Programme Manager, 14 September.

We also have free, interactive workshops running at the event:

* Industrial Symbiosis Workshop 13 Sept, 12-1pm
Meet your ideal commercial partner at our unique networking event.  Your company's waste could be another's resource.  Hear about the substantial savings made by businesses we have brought together through the National Industrial Symbiosis Programme (NISP) programme.

* Business and Markets Workshop, 14 Sept, 12-1pm
SME recycling businesses based in England can access valuable advice to help them develop and grow at this unique free event. Meet WRAP’s advisors and hear how their expertise on business planning, finance, marketing and operations can be tailored to support your expansion plans.

Register for the workshops

SITA UK makes greensteps towards engaged staff

Recycling and resource management company, SITA UK recently featured in the prestigious Sunday Times Best Green Companies league table as a result of its internal waste management awareness campaign and engaged workforce of 6,000 employees.

Led by CEO David Palmer-Jones, the Greensteps programme aims to raise awareness and drive the organisation towards a more environmentally conscious workplace using a fictional character called Mr Greensteps.  The idea of the campaign is to bring together staff experiences and knowledge to share ideas and best practice on how to improve the environmental credentials of the company. 

Staff engagement campaign helps generate green electricity and empowered staff

Adelie Food Holdings, which provides three million fresh sandwiches and 500,000 fruit packs for the high street each week, set out last year to make a dramatic difference to its ‘food footprint’.

Dramatic results were achieved; one site reduced weekly food waste to landfill from nine tonnes to just 30 kilos a week, directing almost all of its waste to AD instead.  The core driver for change was a staff engagement campaign, called ‘Ready, Steady, Green! The Race for Zero Landfill’, devised and delivered by WasteSolve, the environmental consultancy arm of Cawleys. 

As many of the changes were introduced by production line staff, the majority of activities took place in the staff canteen, offering fun activities for staff to take part in while on their breaks.  This included Mario Cart racing on a Wii, quizzes, word searches and a real race for members of the Green Team.  A ‘Green Fitness Trainer’ was also on hand to help explain new practices and processes for staff.

Adelie is well on the way to achieving its goal of zero waste to landfill; in a typical month it now diverts 88 tonnes of food waste to AD.  All these changes have been achieved from a cost neutral basis, demonstrating that introducing environmental best practice does not have to mean increasing costs.

Tell us how you are engaging your staff and also your supply chains and customers, to help make your business more sustainable.

I am a compost producer and have heard about the PAS 100, what is it and how would I become certified?

The BSI PAS 100 is the British Standards Institution’s Publically Available Specification for composted material.  This specification ensures that compost meets recognised safety and quality standards.  It looks at what materials are used to make compost, what’s required in the composting process and the quality of the end product.  Compost used in accordance with both the BSI PAS 100 specification and the Compost Quality Protocol can be used without needing a waste exemption or permit.  The Compost Quality Protocol does not apply in Scotland; however compost needs to meet the BSI PAS 100 specification if it is to be recognised as a fully recovered recycled product.

A copy of the PAS 100 can be downloaded from our website.  A copy of the Compost Quality Protocol can be downloaded from the Environment Agency website.

The certification process for PAS 100 is managed by the Association for Organics Recycling (AfOR) who can provide you with more details on the stages you need to complete.