We recognise that office waste management is one of the biggest environmental issues facing businesses and so we opened our own in-house recycling centre in 2007. Since then we have recycled well over 1,000 tonnes of office waste.
The recycling centre is situated next to our head office complex in central Manchester, where we have around 7,000 employees.
We also accumulate a certain amount of confidential waste, which is securely transported before being shredded as part of the recycling process. As well as paper, the centre collects cardboard, tin cans and plastic cups for recycling.
Closing the loop
Operating our very own in-house facility means we have far more control over what happens to materials once we have finished with them. Therefore, it makes sense for us to use the paper we throw away in the office to make the toilet and kitchen roll that we sell in our stores. That is why we send the recovered paper to the same mill that produces the paper that is turned into our kitchen and toilet roll products.
Keeping it green
In order to collect the waste environmentally, an electric-powered lorry travels around our office premises picking up the rubbish before taking it to the centre to be recycled.
On current operating figures, our annual recycling results in 17,085 less trees being felled and reduces landfill space by 2,315 cubic metres.
Passing it on
In order to educate the next generation and show them a greener way to operate a business, we have recently opened a waste and recycling education centre, called Waste Works, aimed at primary school children, which was officially opened by Cabinet Minister Hazel Blears earlier this year.
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