Case Study 1

 

The problems:

• This five star ultra luxury hotel in London’s West End has a huge volume of waste (up to five tonnes a day).

• Space is acutely short and space for waste though critical is never high on the list of priorities.

• Using a very large rotary compactor, situated on the receiving bay, Westminster Council’s EHO were not happy with this as food is delivered in the same space.

• Using 3 further machines to help them deal with their waste but had problems with two of them.

• A glass crusher and a food dewatering plant, both supposedly to reduce the space. Plus a cardboard baler. Both the food unit and the glass crusher broke down regularly (the food unit wasn’t working 75% of the time) and the dust created by the glass crusher kept blocking up the drains in the basement.

• The labour cost of dealing with the waste with this machinery was high, two members of the stewarding team a day were needed.

• Access to collect the waste was difficult with constant damage to the building from bin lorries.

• Waste collections caused traffic congestion as the contractor collected mid morning during the period all deliveries were being made.

• Noise complaints from the neighbours especially if collections were attempted early morning.

• The hotel wanted to be a “zero landfill” company and improve its ECO credentials.

 

The Solutions:

• Greener World London consulted with the hotel over a period and devised a bespoke service to deal with all the issues.

• We attended the hotel’s “Green Team” meetings to advise them on ways to improve environmentally and also to save money on the “waste service”.

• Got rid of the rotary compactor, saving the lease and maintenance cost, WRL simply collected the uncompacted waste more often.

• The glass crusher and food de-watering plant were scrapped, saving cost, we supplied more food and glass bins that were put in the space these machines had taken up and we collected them as required.

• Cut manual handling issues caused by the weight of crushed glass.

• Reduced wage cost in stewarding by two men, seven days a week.

• We collect everything in smaller vehicles to get into the tight access space and stop the damage to both building and vehicles.

• Full bins of food and glass swapped for empties, so collections are virtually silent.

• Our smaller vehicles get into your loading bay, thus, eliminating disturbance to the neighbours. This allows collections at night, thereby separating the waste and your fresh food deliveries and allowing time to clean down between.

• We return later when all deliveries have taken place and remove the waste/recycling again, so the small space is manageable.

• Waste/recycling is taken to recycling facilities and we guarantee the hotel zero landfill.

• Current recycling percentage 85%

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Case Study 2

 

The problems:

• This 5 star hotel had some unique problems including a collection point in the basement accessed by a narrow ramp.

• Very limited access. Loading bay underground with tight turns and not enough clearance for large trucks.

• Damage to building occurring regularly.

• Collections being done after 8am conflicting with other deliveries causing congestion both in loading bay and in roads around hotel.

• Exhaust emissions causing issues for staff whilst bin lorry operating in confined space.

• Noise complaints from guests from noisy bin lifting equipment on trucks.

• Using a 1100 litre rented bin press which took up a lot of space but was not efficient at reducing volume of waste, 8 x 1100 litre bins needed to accommodate all waste produced plus the machinery meant more space was needed not less.

• Using a glass crusher which was rented but was unreliable and often not working., bins were so heavy they could only be filled 50-60%

• Only glass was separated, all other waste/recycling going into the 1100 litre bins, only about 10% of waste was recycled.

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The Solutions:

• Site survey completed and advice given on potential improvements.

• 1100 litre Bin press and glass crusher returned and rental cost reduced.

• Labour reduced as feeding these machine takes time.

• Space created by removing machinery allowed for extra 1100 litre and 240 litre bins to be supplied.

• Food segregated at source in kitchen simply by having a dedicated food bin and a waste/recycling bin in each area.

• Training given and signage supplied to facilitate this.

• Small baler brought in, to bale cardboard to reduce space needed in waste room, removing cardboard from bins reduced bins needed dramatically, all bales collected FOC.

• Bins supplied for newspapers, magazines and office paper. These bins collected at much lower rate.

• Collections now done during night using smaller vehicles as collections virtually silent and do not conflict with deliveries.

• Current recycling rate 80%

• Costs of machinery, labour and collection reduced.

• Recycling figures supplied monthly to enable the hotel to see how well they are doing and take action if needed. Also provides information that is often required by corporate clients of the hotel who demand an environmental ethos that aligns with their own.

• As collections are during night, area can be cleaned down before day shift and food deliveries start.

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Case Study 3

 

The problems:

• This group of 8 entertainment and catering units had a number of unique issues and was recycling very little.

• Not recycling waste and having no environmental policy and almost no visibility of what was happening with their waste was becoming unacceptable for the business

• Worried about being in breach of the duty of care imposed under section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 which states reasonable steps must be taken to manage your business waste.

• High staff turnover meant there was no consistent approach to waste management and recycling.

• Each outlet had a separate contract with a different company and all worked independently.

• Junior staff left to cope with managing waste.

• High cost.

• Missed collections that often impacted the business.

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The Solutions:

• We met with the company to survey each site and put forward an improvement plan that would improve recycling rates, ensure compliance with the duty of care, reduce cost and to simply make it all work so as not to impact the core business.

• We agreed to manage the waste process for each site. We met with the staff in the units to train and explain the new processes and procedures and supplied our numbers to all staff and we now deal with whatever issues arise as a single point of contact. We collect from all London based units and manage the contractors at the other sites which are quite widely spaced through the country.

• We liaised with the management to establish an environmental policy. 

• We manage the changes of contract terms with existing collectors.

• We started to collect from all London based units and assessed the waste produced and visited the other locations nationwide weekly to monitor performance.

• We very quickly suggested all food and glass could be easily separated at source if staff understood the need and had the facilities to do so. 

• Bins were provided for this and signage and training given which all staff readily took on board.

• We suggested a small baler in each unit to pull the high volume waste from the general waste.

• We collect glass and food and swap empty bins for full, cardboard bales are collected and the general waste has reduced by 50%.

• We supply monthly figures on all waste/recycling for all units and survey each site regularly to monitor working practices and retrain new staff as required.

• Recycling rates have increased in all units and costs have reduced.

• The business in now complaint with their duty of care and they now get positive feedback from staff who are happy to see the company making efforts to reduce the environmental impact.