So, you run a business. You’ve hired a waste management company to dispose of your office waste and received certification that you’ve fulfilled your environmental obligations.
Now you’re free to forget about it as it’s no longer your concern.
Or is it?
Think about that for a second.
Then ask yourself the following questions:
If it’s not being recycled or disposed of correctly, and your branded waste turns up where it shouldn’t, it’s your business that’ll be dragged through the mud, not the waste management company.
Certified Sustainable co-owner, Rod Challis, regularly audits the outgoing waste management of a vast number of organisations, from the moment it’s picked up on-site, right through to its disposal.
“I’ve seen my share of horror stories,” explains Rod.
“My day usually starts at a customers’ site, where I log and photograph the waste before pick up. Then I follow the waste management company to their site before cataloguing how they dispose of it. Audits like these aren’t run by every company, they assume once the waste is gone, it’s somebody else’s problem, but if your waste is branded, it’s yours for life.”
And while many waste management companies do excellent work, some cut corners and don’t back up their claims with action.
“Some WMC’s claim to be zero-landfill and they are — but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t end up in one. I’ve observed recyclable materials being loaded into containers and shipped off to who-knows-where without being incinerated, shredded or recycled. When asked, the owners of these companies have told me:
‘It’ll probably end up in landfill abroad, Rod.’
However, as it’s put there by somebody else, they can legally claim to be zero-landfill themselves.”
When companies cannot dispose of waste in the UK, it’s shipped abroad to be recycled or incinerated for energy, which isn’t a bad thing. However, whether it’s sent abroad or kept in the UK, transferring the waste to other sites has its problems.
Some companies, for example, do not adequately net their wagons for transit, leaving rubbish to blow off and end up lying by the side of the road.
“Companies who don’t audit their waste management companies are in for a shock. Business waste can end up anywhere. In one case I remember, their business waste ended up in China where one of their branded ‘waste bags’ was being burnt. When asked how it got there, they had no answer.”
However, there is one way to make sure your business waste is treated as you’d expect.
A Certified Sustainable accreditation.
A Certified Sustainable accreditation ensures you have full control over the fate of your business waste.
Not only are you audited by one of the leading waste management experts in the industry, you also gain access to the CS Portal, giving you detailed audit results and strategies, including:
All of which allows you to receive a Certified Sustainable accreditation to prove you’re serious about your environmental duties.
And it doesn’t stop there.
Our accreditation is a real demonstration of your commitment to a better planet, and isn’t just a tokenistic platitude toward it. The positive PR of doing the right thing and meaning it will increase public confidence in your business and lead to new client opportunities.
Do the right thing.
Make sure your business is Certified Sustainable.
