Don’t Waste It Roundtable Series – Changing To Improve Efficiency

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05 February 2020 | Updated 04 March 2020

Welcome to part two of our coverage of the Don’t Waste It Roundtable, sponsored by Reconomy. In the second of a four-part series, we continue with the subject of changing the way waste is managed to improve efficiency.

The first session of this breakfast roundtable saw the panel focussing on zero-carbon trajectories and issues around implementing this through better waste management. Led by Steve Malkin, CEO of Planet First, sustainability consultancy and creator and custodian of The Planet Mark this discussion was centred on the practicality of these aims. 

'On-the-go-culture'

The panel spoke about educating individuals and businesses on how their actions can help achieve a circular economy. Both Nathan Gray, Head of Sustainability at Reconomy and Paul Mackintosh, Operations Director at Compass Group agreed that there is much more work to be done around what waste is, where it ends up, the effects of contamination and the importance of consumers segregating waste in the first instance. Gray spoke about the “on-the-go culture” that we find ourselves in, and how businesses must facilitate making recycling easier for the consumer. 

Keith Gould, Head of Estates & Facilities at Barnet & Southgate College, considered the idea of promoting the environmental effect of poor waste management through harder-hitting national campaigns:

“There is no second chance. We have to accept that, and by painting, dare I say it, a very horrible picture to people, that may actually have a reaction”

“The Four Levers of Change are: good news stories, monitoring, giving people the tools and senior management buy-in”

– Nathan Gray 

Head of Sustainability, Reconomy 

Gary Piper, CSR Manager at Artizian, called out the FM industry, urging better collaboration between businesses: “As a whole sector, whether it's catering or whether it's FM, we don’t share best practice”, with the panel agreeing this should be prioritised.

Watch the full session

To view the discussion in full, please enjoy the video below:

We hope this video proved useful and offered some insights into practical ideas for better waste management, and improving efficiency. If you missed it, you can catch up on our first session here. Our next session is entitled “Applying a different measure”. This will focus on evaluating current metrics and emerging alternatives, and using technology to improve efficiencies. 

Picture: Reconomy sponsor our Don’t Waste It Roundtable, discussing changing the way waste is managed to improve efficiency.

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 05 February 2020

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