The UK's manufacturing sector needs to do more to reduce the amount of waste it produces and increase recycling in order to save money during the recession, a new report published today (March 31) has claimed.
The 'Resource Efficiency; business benefits from sustainable resource management' report, which was compiled by manufacturing sector body the Engineering Employers Federation (EEF), looks at the potential of resource efficiency and says that companies should work to maximise the income they gain from their waste.
The government must set out clear objectives and timescales for sustainable resource management as part of its low carbon strategy, which businesses can use to plan their operations strategically
Vanessa Fandrich, senior climate and environment policy advisor, EEF
However, the study claims that government needs to take action to help businesses to adapt to this change as part of its recently-launched low carbon strategy (see letsrecycle.com story), and in particular to address barriers such as getting new waste infrastructure up and running.
Vanessa Fandrich, EEF's senior climate and environment policy advisor, said: “Many companies underestimate the true cost of inefficient business processes because of a lack of understanding of environmental costs.
“Behaviour change is often a first step towards realising considerable savings. However, in some instances doing things differently will require more significant investment and market forces alone may not be enough to provide for the necessary change.”
“The government must set out clear objectives and timescales for sustainable resource management as part of its low carbon strategy, which businesses can use to plan their operations strategically,” she added.
Waste
The report outlines how companies could reduce the amount of waste they produce by increasing greater process efficiency and reuse of resources in their own processes.
Highlighting the benefits of recycling, reuse and recovery, it explained: “By turning waste into a commodity, companies can not just offset their landfill costs, but in some instances generate new income streams.”
And, to achieve this it emphasised the importance of quality, claiming that the ability to source, segregate and store material is “key” to getting value from it.
Closed loop
However, the report also outlined the barriers to the development of a 'closed loop' system, and claimed that “many companies still struggle to find cost-effective outlets for their waste.” As a result it called on government to address planning issues faced in getting new infrastructure online.
And, in relation to 'end of waste', it said: “If the government is serious about a ‘closed-loop economy', where materials are continuously cycled before being finally discarded, the use of by-products and wastes to replace virgin materials needs to be more actively encouraged.
It added: “The government must deliver on its commitment to provide greater clarity on the definition of waste to provide businesses with the certainty they need.
Energy from waste
Alongside recycling and reuse, the report claimed that recovering energy from waste could play an “increasingly important” role in the UK's renewable electricity and heat needs.
It cited the facility being developed by chemicals manufacturer INEOS Chlor at Runcorn in Cheshire (see letsrecycle.com story) as a particular example of a manufacturer working with the waste management industry to develop energy-from-waste infrastructure.
“Manufacturers can build partnerships with other waste producers or technology providers to drive infrastructure development and secure long-term energy supplies,” it explained.
But, it claimed that “the planning system and public opposition to incineration has so far impeded development”, and as a result called on government to “encourage collaborative partnerships between waste producers, waste managers and energy-from-waste technology.”
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