January 2003, pages 12-13 In the second of four related articles on the Envirowise programme, Robert Halford explains the waste minimisation concept and why it is an important tool for businesses in improving efficiency, saving money and reducing waste

Every year UK businesses lose about 4.5 per cent of their turnover due to wasted resources. By implementing waste minimisation, a business can save 1 per cent of its turnover - savings that go straight to the bottom line and are made with no and low-cost actions.

The cost of waste is not just the cost of disposal. There are also hidden costs, for example transportation, labour, electricity, off-cuts etc. In reality, the actual cost of waste can be 20 times the cost of disposal.

This year, many businesses are getting to grips with steep targets to increase recycling and reduce waste going to landfill. The producer's responsibility for products and waste is also a concept emerging from recent European Directives and has already been seen through the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997. By implementing a waste minimisation and resource efficiency programme, a business can minimise the impact of current and future legislation on its activities.

When waste minimisation is referred to, it is generally meant as a reduction in the amount of waste being produced in the first place, rather than having to deal with waste once it has been produced. Waste minimisation is a far better way to address the problems created by ever-increasing resource consumption. Without doubt, despite our increasing awareness of environmental stress caused by the western consumer economy, our consumption of resources continues to spiral upwards and is now at unsustainable levels.

The greatest potential for cost savings and environmental improvement comes from waste minimisation. Understanding the waste hierarchy can help companies to identify the most cost-effective opportunities to reduce waste and save money.

The waste hierarchy (table 1) is a simple to use practical tool. Clearly, eliminating waste is the best option, but the second best option is to minimise waste generation at source. From this first fundamental step, the hierarchy flows down through a series of options where there is a potential to reduce waste. Where it is not possible to eliminate or reduce a particular waste, products and materials can often be re-used. A wide variety of wastes can be reprocessed or recycled and this should be considered once ways to prevent, reduce and re-use waste has been investigated. Disposal should be the last resort.

Focusing on the top levels of the waste hierarchy (ie eliminate, reduce and re-use) will enable businesses to optimise waste minimisation benefits. It is through careful purchase and better use of resources that businesses can make the most dramatic savings in the cost of waste.

The further down the hierarchy you go, the less savings are being made and more is added to the waste at each stage, for example as added raw materials, resources, labour, water, electricity etc.

As the table shows, the hierarchy relates to all business activities. Generally the potential for savings and minimising environmental risk decreases with each step down the hierarchy, eg not producing waste in the first place means a business does not have to pay for it to be recycled or disposed of.

In addition to the help provided to business, Envirowise also has a specific team that works with local authorities and other intermediaries so that they can engage local businesses to participate in environmental improvement.

To find out more about Envirowise and how it can help, contact Clare Campbell at: clare.campbell@envirowise.gov.uk, call the environment and energy helpline on 0800 585 794, or visit the Envirowise website at: www.envirowise.gov.uk