Biffa said that overall 92% of the retailer’s waste was now diverted from landfill with recycling at a “direct rate of 81%” with offsite sorting adding a further 9%.
The recycling work has seen Dunelm recycle an estimated 2250,000 plastic milk bottles, 120,000 PET bottles, 40 tonnes of paper and 7,000 tonnes of cardboard and polyethylene film, as well as 70 tonnes of electrical waste, via a WEEE compliance scheme.
Biffa provide general waste collections across Dunelm’s store support centres, manufacturing sites and distribution centres, as well as over 160 Dunelm stores across the UK. The retailer’s national distribution centre in Stoke handles the cardboard, plastics, paper, bottles, cans, metal and wooden-pallets for recycling while all sites have balers for cardboard and colour-coded bins to segregate waste.
Audits
Waste audits have been conducted by Biffa and lead to some bespoke initiatives, said the company, “to help improve environmentally friendly waste management practice such as awareness campaigns aimed across the retailer’s 9,000 employees and a ‘paperless office initiative’ – which has reduced waste arising from stores by 50%”.
Dunelm has also replaced the glass bottles previously used in their on-site Pausa coffee shops with a “lighter and more sustainable” PET alternative.
In May 2017, Biffa also launched a TEEP compliant dry, mixed recycling wheelie bin service to all of Dunelm’s stores across the UK, allowing for more materials to be properly handled.
Dunelm also operates a ‘Recycle at Work’ initiative across the business aimed at encouraging high levels of recycling. The company also runs training programmes to increase staff awareness and compliance.
‘Committed’
Claire O’Brien, environment & sustainability manager at Dunelm, said: “We are committed to minimising our impact on the environment and, thanks to Biffa, have been able to develop strategies that minimise our carbon footprint and maximise our recycling.
“With the help of this long-standing partnership, we are determined to reach our target goals of zero waste being directed to landfill and an 85% recycling rate.”
David Robinson, account manager at Biffa, said: “The knowledge gained through our five-year relationship with Dunelm means that Biffa have been able to devise a bespoke, compliant solution tailored to their needs and achieve the best results for them.
“Through the initiative we have put in place, we have helped Dunelm achieve a direct recycling rate of 81%, which increases to 90% after further offsite sorting and a 92% landfill diversion rate. We plan to continue our best efforts to assist Dunelm reach their environmental targets.”
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