Industry

More organisations spreading message of ‘right Waste, right Place’ campaign

The ‘right Waste, right Place’ (rWrP) campaign to inform businesses of their obligations to correctly dispose of their waste now has 23 ambassador organisations spreading the message to suppliers, customers and members of these organisations.

The campaign, run by the Environmental Services Association (ESA), launched the Ambassador programme in August 2016 to get prominent waste organisations to help inform small businesses of their waste responsibilities and to prevent illegal activities, in line with the waste Duty of Care.

In order to become an Ambassador, organisations must demonstrate evidence that they embrace the principles of rwRp and have an internal programme on waste management; that they are committed to promoting best practice regarding waste management; and that they are committed to actively engaging with rWrP to promote the campaign.

The ambassadors are expected to use campaign materials based on bespoke research and educational packages to inform small businesses of how they can comply with official regulations and thus avoid serious penalties.

Sam Corp, Head of Regulation at the ESA, commented on the encouraging news that more organisations are joining the campaign, saying: “We are being approached by organisations from a range of sectors every week who want to get involved in the right Waste, right Place campaign.

“This demonstrates that local authorities, businesses and others are recognising how serious an issue Duty of Care compliance is. I am looking forward to continuing to work with our campaign ambassadors and to many more organisations signing up to the programme in the near future.”

More organisations spreading message of ‘right Waste, right Place’ campaign
By not knowing what happens to their waste after it's been taken, businesses could be aiding illegal waste activities like flytipping
Fighting back against waste crime

The overarching goal of the rWrP campaign is to reduce waste crime, whether it is the result of criminal intent or ignorance. Waste crime cost local authorities £69 million in 2014/15, with councils having to deal with over 962,000 recorded incidents, particularly those involving fly-tipping.

All businesses are legally required, according to the Duty of Care, to ensure that their waste is legally disposed of, with those failing to comply running the risk of being hit with an unlimited fine in England and Wales and up to £5,000 in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

ESA research shows that 94 per cent of offending organisations are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and that almost 97 per cent of these believe that they are complying with legal obligations, when in fact almost half are not.

On a positive note, businesses have shown that they are keen to learn how they can clean up their act, with 89 per cent saying they took steps to securely store their waste, while 83 per cent make some effort to separate their waste and recycling.

Speaking about SMEs desire to improve, Corp said: “These results back up what we suspected, that small businesses really want to do the right thing but many are ultimately not complying with the law. Nearly half told us that they’re unsure where the waste goes when it leaves them. Dealing with your waste can fall down the list of priorities when busy, but business people… need to realise that they are risking significant penalties if they do not comply.

The following organisations are now signed up as ambassadors for the campaign:

  • Augean
  • Biffa
  • Business Environmental Support Scheme for Telford
  • Cory Environmental
  • Considerate Constructors Scheme
  • FCC Environment
  • Gloucestershire Joint Waste Team
  • Helistrat
  • Hills Waste Solutions
  • Keep Britain Tidy
  • Kent County Council
  • Mace
  • National Trust
  • Redrow
  • SUEZ
  • The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB)
  • Travis Perkins Plc
  • URoc
  • Veolia
  • Viridor
  • Waste Cap
  • Westminster City Council
  • Willmott Dixon

More information and materials from ‘right Waste, right Place’ are available at the campaign’s website.

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