Keeping up with TEEP

The new Regulations in England present a natural opportunity for both commercial and municipal recycling operators to review the capability of their systems to ensure that they can support and demonstrate compliance and to identify how they can improve their business processes. Ultimately our experience tells us that this will make them more efficient and inline with the objective of the regulation, improve the volume and value of material they produce.

The vast majority of debate around the new Regulation has been focused on the application of the TEEP principle and what will (or will not) be regarded as Technically, Environmentally or Economically Practicable. The result of shifting the focus from the objectives of the regulation to its practical implementation means we run the risk of waste managers missing an opportunity to drive value from their businesses and for England to better manage the waste it produces.

One of the most obvious questions relating to the new Regulations is how operators and regulators accurately monitor levels of compliance? Inspections of waste producer sites and visits to waste managers’ facilities to view ‘evidence’ will no doubt occur but they are both labour intensive and limited in scope.

Scotland

In Scotland, where the requirement to segregate recyclates was introduced last year (albeit without the confusion of TEEP) some forward looking operators recognised that one of the benefits of taking the opportunity to improve their information systems and business processes would be the ability to report accurately (and in real time) on their customers’ compliance. This not only satisfied the regulator but also reassured their customers that their material was being managed in a responsible manner – removing the risk of fines and the potential reputational impact of non-compliance.

Secondly, and as anyone who runs a business knows, simply undertaking an action does not always have the desired or expected outcome. This is especially true when there are a lot of variables and complexity ahead of the point of intervention, in this case a change in the collection method. In a nutshell, just putting in a dedicated paper bin cannot lead to the automatic assumption that we will recycle a higher volume and quality of that product.

The end-to-end capability of modern day recycling software enables recycling and resource managers to track material from the point of collection through to its sale on local or global markets. This provides very clear and unambiguous evidence of the result of any actions taken in the collection and treatment process. It allows us to understand what is important – the volume and quality of material being produced – in a way that just measuring the availability of bins for example never could.

Efficiency

These systems will also enable waste managers to improve the efficiency across their entire business. Operationally this may include, optimising vehicle routes or ensuring adequate processing capacity via the most appropriate technology. It could also facilitate the development of more targeted and tailored pricing structures – removing the one size fits all approach. Where necessary we can implement pay by weight systems ensuing that customers pay only for the waste they produce and helping to have a positive impact right at the top of the hierarchy by increasing the focus on the reduction of waste produced.

Systems capable of collecting and reporting detailed and accurate data can also significantly improve the customer experience sharing this information via dedicated extranets or portals and providing customers with access to recycling rates or service levels for example. They also provide the ability to communicate directly with their service provider allowing them to raise issues and to reduce resolution times . At the tail-end of the process real-time systems can ensure that these valuable secondary materials are placed on the market at the appropriate time to optimise their value.

I believe that for those prepared to embrace the spirit of the new Regulation it should provide a significant opportunity to improve the way they manage material and their customers’ experience. Businesses prepared to take a step back and adopt an enterprise-wide view asking “what can be achieved?” rather than “how do we comply?”, are, I believe, likely to be the ones who realise the commercial opportunity that the regulations present.

For a more views on the legislation changes, book onto the ‘Commercial Waste 2015’, a one day conference which takes place on February 26 at Holborn Bars in London and is hosted by letsrecycle.com. For more information, click here.