Businesses across Wales are under increasing pressure to lower their carbon footprint and recycle where ever possible. Recycling has become a serious focal point on the political agenda across the UK with ambitious targets being set for businesses and local councils to reduce waste disposed via landfill sites and to recycle waste where ever possible. With the general election scheduled later this year Environmental Issues will be one of the key topics of discussion but what will the future hold for recycling in Wales?
Over the last 3 years there has been a significant change in the way domestic waste is recycled with the introduction of household collection services. But for many businesses the responsibilities to recycle and reuse materials has become a costly process which has very little financial benefit. The introduction of the WEEE directive has produced considerable costs on any company producing, distributing and reselling electrical equipment in the UK as they are now required to assist in the recovery and recycling of all end-of- life products. But this may prove to be the first of many directives of its kind that will have a knock on effect on businesses and consumers.
GD Environmental one of Wales’s leading waste disposal and recycling companies identify the importance of each individual to make a difference by recycling where ever possible.
Director James Norvill explains “last year an estimated 5 billion cans were used in the UK. The energy used to produce one new aluminium can is enough to make 20 recycled cans. It’s not asking a lot for the public to recycle cans in the appropriate bins, if everyone contributed to this it can make a big difference”
GD Environmental has set ambitious targets to recycle as much of its skipped waste as possible this year with the objective being to reuse over 85% of all transferred waste and become one of the most environmentally friendly skip businesses in Wales.
James recognises there is very little waste that cannot be recycled but believes we should look at our existing recycling methods and consider how successful they have been?
James continues “if you look at how countries in the rest of Europe particularly in Scandinavia approach recycling it is very different from the UK as they give incentives to recycle. Wile visiting Sweden last year I noticed a local supermarket had a facility to insert old plastic bottles and repay them in change. I think this would be a big success if introduced in supermarkets across the UK. I think in the future governments will be faced by a tough decision to either continue to promote recycling or start to enforce recycling. This decision may not be to far away”
Education from an early age is an option to assure a more environmental consideration in the future. James identifies the need to teach children at a young age to recycle and questions whether it should become part of the national curriculum.
“It’s important to educated students from an early age about the impacts of global warming amongst other environmental issues facing Wales today. Over the next 30 years there will be significant changes in the way businesses will need to operate and we will be depending on the next generation of employees to become more environmentally considerate”
