As a consultancy, our waste production is limited, but we still need to establish whether this emissions source is ‘de minimis’ as defined by PAS2060 and measure / declare these if not; given the gulf between landfill and recycling emissions factors, understanding the breakdown more fully is important to determining this.

We have therefore (perhaps unsurprisingly) been looking at waste during ‘Plastic Free July’, revisiting existing waste/recycling management to improve measuring types produced by weight. It may be goodbye individual waste baskets and hello screen break with a leg stretch to the recycling station to help effective categorisation. A call to your waste services provider for what they can offer to support this is also worthwhile.

Businesses can take steps to avoid disposable plastic cutlery and cups etc for catered functions, but our plastics are generally from packed lunches: including harder-to-recycle crisp packet and confectionary wrapper types not accepted by waste collection schemes. Many supermarkets accept a range of plastics recycling: you can find yours via the link Local recycling | Recycle Now.

Plastic is not only a polluter on disposal, creating greenhouse gases and microplastics – primary production is very emissions intensive: on average 3116.29 kgCO2e*. Time for a bamboo lunchbox?

Away from plastic, we have already reduced paper orders by over 85% between 2015/16 and 2021/2 – cutting production, transit and disposal emissions. Much office waste is still paper, (including confidential shredding, which is recycled); did you know recycling instead of diverting to landfill can reduce emissions from 1,041.785 kgCO2e* to 21.80 kgCO2e* per tonne? A wider use of electronic signing will no doubt contribute to the gains here. Think before you print!

*using 2022 GHG conversion factors published by the UK Government