Page 29
Commitments
Divert 95% of our operational waste from landfi ll by 2013.
Recycle 75% of both John Lewis waste and Waitrose waste by year-end 2012.
“Partners are recycling more at home and quite rightly expect us to do the same things. The only trouble is that we don’t have a local authority coming to our shops free of charge to pick up our recyclables; we have to establish separate arrangements for the treatment of our commercial waste streams. We are working hard at improving our segregation of waste and seeking out the correct recycling route for each waste stream.”
Arthur Sayer, Recycling and Waste Manager
Waste generation
(Graph of John Lewis waste reycled and disposed)
(Graph of Waitrose waste reycled and disposed)
Waste reduction and recycling
The 340 million tonnes of waste produced every year in the UK not only has an environmental impact, such as the generation of methane and the lack of landfi ll space, but a fi nancial one too. For example, the 29,534 tonnes of waste we were unable to recycle in 2008/09 cost in the region of £3 million to dispose of. For all these reasons, we actively support waste reduction and recycling initiatives within our business, by our customers and throughout our supply chain.
Last year, we diverted 49% of our operational waste from landfill, up from 47%, and recycled just over 28,000 tonnes of waste. This included 307 tonnes of Waitrose food waste (see fighting food waste on page 30). With John Lewis recycling 43% of its waste (up from 39%) and Waitrose 50% (up from 49%), we remain on track to meet our targets (see Commitments).
The business has recycled transit packaging materials such as cardboard and plastic from its shops and distribution centres for more than 20 years, and our shops and head offi ces also recycle offi ce paper, confi dential paper, plastic cups, toner cartridges, glass, magazines, cans and bottles.
In an attempt to maximise opportunities, John Lewis and Waitrose have teamed up on several initiatives. For example, John Lewis vehicles backhaul cardboard and polythene waste from our shops – including Waitrose shops at Rushden and in Scotland – to its Distribution Centre in northampton, and from June, introduced backhauling of mixed waste paper too. This makes good use of the available lorry space and reduces our dependence on third-party collectors. We are also committed to reducing construction waste (see page 28).
Closing the loop
In February 2009, John Lewis began segregating waste acrylic display material for reprocessing into new plastic products, diverting over 4 tonnes from landfi ll in the fi rst three months, and we are also starting to reclaim expanded polystyrene – mainly from the packaging around white goods – through Wastecare, the contractor we use for collecting old electrical appliances. A processor then converts it for use in plaswood, which could be used in new Partnership buildings.
Waste to burn:
We recognise that ‘energy from waste’ solutions will need to be employed to deal with the proportion of general waste that cannot currently be recycled. Modern incineration plants are emerging that have the capability of creating energy with minimal impact. Waitrose plans to send non-recyclable waste from its head office in Bracknell to the first purpose-built ‘energy from waste’ incineration facility, due to be commissioned in autumn 2009.
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