Axil calls on firms to rethink waste strategies

Waste management solutions business Axil Integrated Services has published a report urging manufacturers to reassess their waste management strategies.

The report said that companies need to realise the 'untapped value of waste'

Titled ‘At your disposal: Getting waste to work harder for your business’, and published on Friday (August 6), the report analysed the need for manufacturers to realise how effective waste management can increase profits, and how poor strategies can contribute to climate change.

The report claims that many manufacturers are happy for waste companies to “simply remove their rubbish regularly enough not to affect output”.

However, Axil says that with the UK’s landfill sites handling approximately 111 million tonnes of waste each year and manufacturers facing increased scrutiny over their environmental footprint, they must find alternative ways to handle waste.

‘Practical advantage’

Edward Pigg, managing director at Axil, said: “For so long, many manufacturers have been satisfied with waste disposal in its simplest form — waste collection, on time. With increasing pressure on these businesses to re-examine and reduce the waste they produce; the conversation needs to shift beyond waste collection and instead to how manufacturers eliminate and optimise their waste streams.

“In our new whitepaper, we hope to engage manufacturers to the potential of total waste management, not only to reduce their environmental impact but also how manufacturing output can actually be improved, efficiency increased, and waste management costs driven out of the business as a result. We have also included a scorecard for manufacturers to assess their current processes. We’d urge all manufacturers to re-assess their processes after reading to see what practical advantages have been realised by others in the sector.”

Value

Axil noted that thousands of businesses still not unlocking their true potential”.

The report explained that by segregating materials and selling for a price when market value is at its highest, companies can realise the “untapped value of waste”.

It continued: “Doing this, however, requires the resource, processes and the know-how to remove contaminants and properly segregate the various grades of materials – something a good total waste management company can provide. By adding these processes into the waste cycle, manufacturing waste can become a valuable commodity and lucrative revenue stream.”

With the right waste management support on board, Axil argued that manufacturers can secure access to global and domestic export markets to get a “true market value “of those segregated waste streams.

To back this up, the specialist pointed to its partnership with food manufacturer, Birds Eye, that shows after investing into an effect waste management strategy, it received a £50,000 Rebate from cooking oil, cardboard baling and recycling which had been previously costed to the business.

Best practice

The report adds that a good waste management strategy will include a dedicated contract manager to ensure processes are streamlined and regularly monitored to ensure “tasks are held to account”.

It says that with an effective waste management strategy in place, it allows manufacturers to concentrate on their core activities and production processes alone.

Concluding, it continued: “The most effective waste management operations require an entirely holistic approach which takes into account continual improvements for disposal, compliance, recycling and rebates — ultimately making improvements to the manufacturing process as a by-product.”