SOUTH WESSEX WASTE MINIMISATION GROUP: 12th September 2007
MINUTES OF MEETING
1. Present
(see attached)
2. Trade Slot: Commercial Recycling (Ian Mariner)
Ian Mariner is Director of Commercial Recycling Ltd. who operate one of the largest
recycling sites in Dorset located to the rear of Canford Park Arena.
The site has a dual weighbridge, has a waste management licence and registered
exempt activities, is a shared site with New Earth Solutions (in-vessel domestic
composting) is open to all trade customers and is a bespoke waste recycling facility.
a) Aggregate Washing Plant
 Input materials otherwise destined for landfill
 Designed to produce over 265,000 tonnes of secondary and recycled
aggregate over the next 5 years.
 Product recommendations by the Highways Agency and Local
Building Control
 Part funded by WRAP – 30% contribution towards capital costs
b) Secondary Aggregate
 Materials tested regularly by independent organisation
 Materials comply with current specifications
 Produced in accordance with the WRAP quality protocol
 High quality materials produced
c) Inert Recycling
 Avon Material Supplies Ltd. operate over 25 tipper lorries – 8 wheeler,
6 wheeler, 4 wheeler tippers and grab lorries
 Extensive fleet of plant and machinery
 Crushing and screening permits – licensed by Borough of Poole
 Cartaway service including contaminated spoils
 Feedstock for aggregate washing plant
d) Skip Waste Recycling
 Licensed to receive 175,000 tonnes of waste p/a
 Recycling show only 32% going to landfill
 WRAP funded picking station – expectations to further reduce landfill
by 7%
e) Waste Collection Service
 Separate collections for cardboard, mixed recyclables, general waste,
kitchen waste, plastics and glass
 Regular collection service, local order office, dedicated waste control
manager, small lorries (7.5 tonne) for easy access.
 NO administrative charges, rental charges or contract charges
f) Pre-Treatment
 All waste collected by Commercial Recycling Ltd. tipped into Canford
Recycling Centre
 No waste tipped direct to landfill
 Helping customers meet their obligations under the new pre-treatment
legislation which comes into force on 30th October 2007
 For further information look on the EA website at www.environmentagency.gov.uk
g) WEEE Directive
 Authorised by the EA (paragraph 50 and 51 exemptions registered)
 Collection and disposal facilities available
 Consignment notes and other documentation completed to meet
obligations under Duty of Care
 New dedicated WEEE storage facility
h) The Future – What Next?
 New waste transfer station at mannings heath road, Parkstone
 Expansion of waste collection vehicle fleet – new 12 tonne lorries
 Development of at least one other site in Dorset in next 12 months
(Weymouth area)
 New services including confidential waste and glass collection.
 New plastic and cardboard recycling line under construction.
For further details contact Commercial Recycling at 01202 577944 or
enquiries@commercialrecycling.co.uk
Website: www.commercialrecycling.co.uk
3. The benefits of environmental initiatives – Dorset Business (Liam Baker)
Liam is currently undertaking a project with Dorset Business as part of his Economics
BSc at the University of York.
Dorset Business are an independent membership organisation serving and
representing around 1000 businesses in Dorset. Dorset Business helps local
businesses by running networking events, business forums, offers legal advice, export
documentation and policy and CSR information.
CSR (Corporate and Social Responsibility) focuses on businesses obligation to
consider the interests of others in all aspects of their operations. This can help boost
your business as well as the area in which you work. It is a win-win situation.
Better Together Dorset: free online charter for social responsibility designed to
encourage businesses to actively get involved in an environmental, social or economic
activity. Every business can get involved, there are activities to suit all.
Pledges: you can take environmental, economic and social pledges.
Environmental Pledges:
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Purchase renewable energy which is exempt from the climate change levy
Low wattage light bulbs
Join the SMART Dorset Resource Efficiency Club
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Reduce Paper Use: double sided printing and photocopying, re-use paper to
make telephone pads, re-use envelopes, increase paper free communication (email).
Recycle: computer cartridges, mobile phones, redundant computer kit,
redundant office furniture/equipment, waste paper
Benefits of better together Dorset
- Reduction in costs combating waste
- New opportunities for staff development , higher staff morale, motivation and
retention
- Improved reputation with existing and new customers leading to increased sales
- Opportunity to be recognised in the supply chain and when tendering for
contracts
- Greater ability to influence local decision makers
- Increased public awareness and perception raised via an enhanced media profile
from positive publicity
- Opportunity to give something back to the community
Resource Efficiency Club
Promotes sustainability and competitiveness by helping businesses develop solutions.
Increases competitiveness by driving down costs throughout the supply chain.
Aiming at target savings of £200,000 between all member companies.
Methods: reduce production of office waste, packaging, use of raw materials and
utility usage.
Benefits of the REC: could save up to 3% of turnover, straight to the bottom line,
benefits in months not years, could save £1000 per employee, many measures cost
nothing, real cost of waste is 5 to 20 times disposal cost, legislation.
For further details contact:
Lorraine.hubbard@dorsetbusiness.net
Also look on the website www.bettertogetherdorset.org.uk
4. Success Story: Pilkington Tiles (Peter Fereday)
Peter is the Technical Manager at Pilkington’s Tiles Ltd. based at the floor tile factory
in Poole.
Mainly unglazed ceramic floor tiles are produced in Poole.
As part of the Dorset REC the company decided to look at the manufacturing process
and how they could use resources more efficiently.
Peter went through the manufacturing process which gives rise to the following waste
streams:
 SLUDGE: 2000 tonnes/pa
 SCRAP TILES: 800 tonnes/pa
 CLAY WASTE: 300 tonnes/pa
 WASTE PAPER: 90 skips p/a
 WASTE OIL: 60 litres/pa
 CONTAMINATED BAGS: 280/pa
 WASTE LAMPS: 50p/a
It was decided to concentrate on reducing the amount of sludge waste. The sludge is
difficult to re-use due to the lack of consistency in batches resulting from the different
colours used.
The body preparation process was looked.
Water, materials and energy go into the process. Blunging and screening then occur,
following on from screening 3 colour arks are used and then spraying occurs and then
onto dust for pressing. Waste water from the process is collected in an agitated tank.
Coagulant (polymer) is added to assist separation. A centrifuge is used to separate the
solid and liquid. Centrade water and sludge are produced. The centrade water is
discharged as clean effluent or goes back into the system. The sludge is taken to
landfill.
The company reviewed the process to reduce the sludge production and waste water.
The arks are now by-passed and a small holding tank is used. The arks are now used
to store waste water which can now be re-used in the system.
The amount of waste water produced was reduced by sequencing the products to
minimise washings. This was worked out by looking at the sequence of colour usage
to reduce contamination.
New pipework was also installed to increase the efficiency of the water recycling.
Over 4 months the following savings have been achieved:
 22% reduction in the sludge volume
 48% reduction in polymer consumption.
 Reduction in disposal costs: £1624
 Value of extra dust produced: £10,260
 Savings in polymer: £1260
Total savings to date: £13,084
Projected annual savings: £40,000
Further refinements to the project include:
- installation of new pipework for waste water movement
- installation of pump to power waste water system
Other waste streams will also be looked at to produce further savings.
5. Pollution Prevention in the Construction Industry (Tessa Bowering:
Environment Agency)
Tessa gave an overview of the definition of pollution with some examples and the
legislation that covers this, resource efficiency issues within the construction industry,
where to look for further sources of help and guidance and then provided more detail
on construction waste and site waste management plans.
For construction site operators it is good practice to consider all aspects of the site:
environmental/legal obligations, the regulators and stakeholders, environmental
sensitivities, environmental management, special requirements, training, incident
response planning and monitoring and improvement.
What is pollution?
‘Direct or indirect introduction as a result of human activity, of substances, vibrations,
heat, noise into air, water or land which may be harmful to human health or the
quality of the environment, result in damage to material property, or impair or
interfere with amenities and other legitimate uses of the environment’
Definition from the IPPC Directive 1996.
Legislation states it is an offence to cause or knowingly permit pollution of controlled
waters. Controlled waters are:
- rivers, streams, ditches (including dry)
- lakes, ponds
- groundwater (water held underground in porous rocks. Used extensively,
abstracted for public drinking water supply, industrial and agricultural uses.
Pollution of groundwater is very difficult and costly to remediate).
- Coastal waters up to 3 miles out.
Examples of pollutants: oil, silt, sewage, pesticides, trade effluent, contaminated fire
water, flytipped waste, heavy metals, organic wastes, hazardous chemicals, urban
runoff, hazardous wastes etc.
Substances that are not harmful to humans can be very harmful to the environment.
Causes of pollution:
 Accidents
 Deliberate release/disposal
 Negligence
 Vandalism
 Poor operation
 Natural
 Poor planning
 Equipment/plant failure
 Poor design/construction
 Wrong connection
Most pollution incidents are down to some form of mis-management by the
responsible person.
Pollution from the construction industry:
In 2005 23,504 incidents were reported to the EA, 2434 were from the industrial
sector. 332 incidents were from the construction and demolition industry.
The most common pollutants from the construction industry are oil, silt, detergents
and wastes. Most incidents arise from poor storage, ignorance, accidents and
vandalism.
Enforcement:
There is prevention legislation that the EA can use to back up enforcement of
pollution prevention measures if site owners will not do things voluntarily.
 Anti Pollution Works Regulations 1999
This is a notice to undertake work to prevent or remedy pollution. The EA has to
demonstrate that pollution of controlled waters is likely and that a cost/benefit is
proved.
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 Oil Storage Regulations 2001
set minimum standards
all non-compliant oil storage facilities must be compliant now
minimum standards for everyone aimed to reduce oil pollution incidents
Affects containers greater than 200 litres
Applies to fixed tanks, drums, IBCs and mobile bowsers
Containers must be: fit for purpose, in a safe position, ancillary equipment within
secondary containment system and valves must be locked shut.
Resource Efficiency in the Construction Industry
There is a huge potential for reducing how much waste is produced on construction
sites. Areas of wastage need to be identified then action needs to be taken by the
relevant people, systems need to be put in place (targets, measuring, monitoring) and
may be some investment in technology may be required. By considering reduction, reuse and recycling the volume of waste to dispose of is reduced and this ultimately
saves money and resources. Ordering to need and size and segregation of wastes on
site to allow recovery and recycling are 2 areas that can be looked at.
Pollution Prevention Guidance and Support
The EA has produced a 10 point checklist which contains 10 questions you should be
able to answer with a little checking around your site. It covers storage and handling
of oils and chemicals, wastes management, site drainage and dealing with pollution
emergencies.
There is also a Pollution Prevention Pays Pack which contains a booklet, DVD and
posters with action points so you can improve your site and reduce your chance of
causing pollution.
Look the EA website for this and more information about pollution prevention.
www.environment-agency.gov.uk
2 more useful websites are:
www.envirowise.gov.uk
www.netregs.gov.uk
Construction Waste:
 The UK generates 72 million tonnes of construction and demolition waste
each year.
 16% of total waste arisings in the UK
 60% of this wastes is landfilled (cost £800m)
 46m tonnes is spoil
 24m tonnes is ‘hard’ waste (concrete, brick, timber, glass etc.)
 13m tonnes of material is thrown away, unused.
Site Waste – the facts
 The average 8 cubic yard skip costs around £150
 The average cost of what is being thrown away in that skip is over £1200
 In the UK an average of 13% of all materials delivered to site go into the skip
without ever being used.
 The construction industry produces the equivalent of 5 tonnes of wastes for
every single person in the UK.
 Someone flytips in the UK every 35 seconds. 40% of fly-tipping cases include
construction waste.
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Flytipping costs the tax payer £50 million/year
20% of materials on site can be saved.
Site Waste Management Plans (SWMPs)
o Regulations should be in force by April 2008
o SWMPs aim to reduce the amount of waste produced on construction sites and
to prevent flytipping
o Affect construction projects costing more than £250,000
o SWMPs provide a structure for waste delivery and disposal at all stages during
a construction project.
o 2 levels: standard (£250,000 - £500,000) and detailed (over £500,000 which
will require more detailed reporting)
SWMPs will identify :
o Who will be responsible for resource management
o What types of waste will be generated
o How the waste will be managed – will it be reduced, re-used or recycled
o Which contractors will be used to ensure the waste is correctly recycled or
disposed of responsibly and legally
o How the quantity of waste generated from the project will be measured.
Netregs website: simple guide on creating an effective SWMP – ‘Site Waste – it’s
criminal – A simple guide to site waste management plans’
For further details contact Tessa on 01258 483416 tessa.bowering@environmentagency.gov.uk
6. Constructing Excellence – Mark Pitcher
Mark is the chairman of the Constructing Excellence Dorset Club.
The construction industry hasn’t change much over the last 10 years and costs are
increasing in the UK. There is a need to improve.
The construction industry:
- Is under achieving
- represents 15% GDP
- employs 1.6 million people
- has low profitability
- has client dissatisfaction
- requires training and R&D
2 reports have been produced:
1994 – Sir Michael Latham ‘ Construction the team’
1998 – Sir John Egan ‘Rethinking Construction’
The second report came out with some commitments:
 committed leadership
 customer focus
 integrate the process around the product
 quality driven agenda
 commitment to people
The main problem in the UK is fragmentation. There are 198,000 construction
companies, most employing fewer than 8 people.
Improvement is required from the bottom up and therefore constructing excellence
clubs have been set up.
The industry needs to look at construction projects in a different way taking into
account the issues raised in the 1998 report.
For further details contact Mark at mark@pitcher-construction.com
7. Trade Slot: The Eco Cube – Cleaning Evolution (Ian Foster)
Washroom Water Waste
 10 million + urinals in the UK
 Average urinal has 4 litre flush
 151,000 litres fresh water per annum
 A single urinal uses 4 litres in 15 minutes
Waterless Urinals – Why not?
 Require changes to urinals
 Ongoing contracts
 Don’t always eliminate smells
 Still require maintenance
 Not always waterless
A Natural Solution – the Eco Cube
 Natural bacteria
 6 billion per cube
 Waterless operation
 No capital cost
 No contract
Eco -Cube Benefits
 Waterless operation
 Clears pipes of limescale/uric acid
 Eliminates blockages
 Eliminates odours
 Improves hygiene
 Reduces cleaning
 No chemicals
 Eco-Cube costs £70 (approx) p/a with potential savings including;
- water/sewerage up to £430
- descaler contract ?
- air freshener contract?
- Maintenance?
- Cleaning materials?
Whose using Eco-Cube? – Borough of Poole, Office of National Statistics,
Bournemouth & Poole College, Bowlplex, British Telecom, Southampton City
College, Poole Hospital NHS Trust
Set Up a Free Trial
 Test eco-cube in one washroom
 Turn off urinal flush
 Instruct cleaners
 1 months free cubes and cleaner
For further information contact Ian at ianfoster@beplc.com
Telephone: 01202 774499
info@cleaningevolution.co.uk
website: www.cleaningevolution.co.uk
8. Success Story: waste minimisation at Lush (Ruth Andrade)
Ruth explained that Lush manufacture handmade, natural cosmetics. There are
approx. 90 shops in the UK and 400 shops worldwide. The main manufacturing site is
in Poole.
The company looked at the concept of zero waste and set up a challenge to divert 90%
of their wastes from landfill.
There are various stages that have been developed:
Create Awareness
 Changing the culture
 Make use of keen members of staff
 Use internal media effectively
 External campaigns
Eliminate Waste
 Designing out packaging – solid products i.e soap sold by the ‘slice’
 Working up the supply chain
 Adopting returnable/re-usable transit packaging – Lush in Japan now use
returnable plastic crates instead of cardboard and have saved £30,000.
 Encouraging customers to re-use packaging – refilling containers. Company
working with Trading Standards to develop this practice. If customers re-use
packaging 4 times they can have a free product.
Reduce Resources
 Sustainable procurement
 Moving away from non-renewable materials
 Using lighter packaging
 Searching for innovative packaging: popcorn (for mail order parcels), easy
pack (made from recycled paper – use instead of bubblewrap) and innovia
films (cellulose based, fully biodegradable).
Re-Use Creatively
 Look at the waste stream for opportunities
 Calculate financial benefits
 Inspire people to change
 Cardboard perforator and shredded paper (use as packaging), goods in
packaging (essential oils drums used as recycling bins) moulds and trays.
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 Use internet resources:
www.nisp.org.uk
www.wastechange.net (materials and waste exchange)
www.myskip.com (re-use and free exchange of materials)
http://uk.freecycle.com (local e-mail group for free exchange)
www.wasteexchange.net (online materials listings)
Recycle Proactively
 Segregating at source
 Co-mingled recycling as an easy solution
 Updating waste contract regularly
 Encouraging the local recycling market
 Back-hauling scheme
 Help customers to recycle
Over the last year the company have recycled 110 tonnes of cardboard and 12 tonnes
of plastic.
Close the Loop
 Buy recycled
 Waste neutral concept
 95% of store packaging will be made of recycled materials
 Find opportunities to close the loop
 Bio fuels (from chip fat)
 Favour post consumer waste
Avoid Landfill
 Organic waste collection
 Changing waste into fuels
 Lush has gone from producing approx. 11 tonnes of waste once a week to 11
tonnes of waste every 5 weeks.
Share Experience
 Sharing solutions (forums, meetings)
 Use web resources
 Promote local businesses
 Companies who have helped Lush include:
Plastics: www.assoc-polymer-resources.co.uk
Organic: Karbie Recycling 01202 892910
Card and paper: www.martockwastepaper.com
Save-a-cup: www.save-a-cup.co.uk
Purbeck and Wareham Skip Hire 01202 620077
For further information contact Ruth Andrade
www.lush.co.uk
savetheplanet@lush.co.uk
9. Health and safety in waste management (Adrian Gunner – SWRAC)
The South West Regional Assessment Centre (SWRAC) was established in 1996 and
offers waste and environmental management, training and assessment services. The
SWRAC are based in Wimborne and now also offer H&S consultancy and training.
The waste industry has had many fatalities:
 Lady killed in Wimborne in August 2007
 Member of the public killed in Newbury in Sept 2007
 Refuse collector killed in Bournemouth in December 2005
 Refuse collector loses an arm in Poole in April 2007
Dangerous equipment is used and many vehicles in the road (dustcarts).
Most accidents come from the waste management sector.
HSE involvement:
 Focusing on waste management industry
 Higher level of site inspections
 Encouraging employers to ensure staff are fully trained
 Working with employers
Typical training activities:
 NVQ’s
 Technical courses
 Legislation
 IOSH Working Safely
 IOSH Managing Safely
 NEBOSH General Certificate
IOSH Working Safely
- For anyone needing a grounding in H & S essentials
- 1 day course – jargon free and interactive
- Covers: defines hazard and risk, improving safety performance, identifies
common hazards.
IOSH Managing Safely
- 4 day course
- Managers/supervisors from any sector
- Assessing risks
- Controlling risks
- Legal responsibilities
- Hazard identification
- Accident identification
- Performance measurement
- Work based project.
Next Courses: (held at Wimborne)
Working Safely: 24th September and 1st October
Managing Safely: 22nd October
For further details contact the SWRAC on 01202 848099 swrac@btconnect.com
www.swrac.co.uk
10. Any Other Business
Charmaine Martin, Envision Business Mentor, gave a brief overview of the Envision
project.
Subsidised Business Service:
 Dedicated environmental business mentor
 Business audit to assess opportunities
 Flexible days of support to deliver action plans
 Advise and guidance on energy, waste, water, transport, construction
 Greening supply chains, industrial estates, re-using business waste
 Implementing ISO14001, BS8555
 Bespoke and accredited training.
Assistance to Businesses
With still 40% of the programme to run , Envision has to date helped business in the
South West to save:
 49,318 tonnes of waste from landfill
 5,687,194 KWh of wasted energy
 14,828 cubic metres of water use
 8,440 litres of vehicle fuel
 5,820 tonnes of CO2 and
 Financial savings of £4,737,266
Envision case study:
For further details contact Envision on 0845 456 9350
www.envision.org.uk
11. Date and Venue of next meeting.
Tuesday 4th December 2007, 10am at the Crown Hotel, Blandford Forum.