The biggest change in 30 years to how business waste is collected and disposed of in Scotland will come into force in the New Year.
From 1 January 2014 as part of the Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012 businesses of all sizes will be required to separate and recycle their plastic, paper, metal and glass. Whilst some businesses may feel that this new impetus on recycling puts them under increasing financial and market pressure, it is imperative that they play their part in helping to reduce the 17million tonnes of waste produced by Scotland’s business community every year.
For some, this will certainly mean that revenue will need to be allocated to investing in new waste procedures. On the surface this may seem like an additional unwelcome outlay but the new legislation will force businesses to look at and, more importantly be accountable for their waste. And it is this new insight that could identify and provide opportunities for waste processing improvements as companies reinvent waste – a burden and an overhead – into a resource and financial asset.
Businesses from SMEs to multinationals who have invested in a waste baler to compact and manage their waste have long since recognised the wider economic opportunities, cost benefits and revenue stream that selling the bales can provide.
Riverside Waste Machinery is one of the UK’s leading independent providers of waste balers, baler servicing and associated waste management expertise.Managing director Jonathan Oldfield says: ‘We have seen a huge increase in baler enquiries as companies switch on to the fact that they can reduce or even eliminate their waste associated overheads such as bin and skip lift charges and landfill tax, by baling their waste to create an income when it is sold to a waste and recycling contractor.
‘Many of our customers who lease or buy a waste baler such as the popular RWM 500, report a return on investment within 18-20 months. This is in addition to the further advantages of increased storage space and of course, for our Scottish customers, early compliance with the new regulations.’
For small businesses in Scotland who may be looking to invest in a waste baler, there is further good news. They can now access loans of up to £100k to help them become more resource efficient. The zero or low interest funding available through Resource Efficient Scotland can be used to invest in measures that will produce carbon savings or optimise energy or materials use.
