Introduction
Society, industry and consumers have been embarrassed to confront the issues of waste. Its disposal has simply been "Somebody Else's Problem". However, growing environmental concern, spreading consumerism and the relentless growth in the costs of safe waste disposal is obliging society finally to face the issues.
Industry's attitude to waste has always been a reflection of society's attitude. Until now, waste has been a pariah issue. For all industries, save those capable of spectacular pollution, managing waste has been irrelevant to business performance.
Suddenly this is no longer the case. Just as society has been obliged to confront its production of waste, so several factors - finite natural resources, environmental consciousness and consumer pressures - have given rise to increased regulations, spiralling disposal costs and shareholder concern.
As a result, every aspect of the commercial environment has been affected. Waste management is now an issue that every company has to face although many have yet to recognise this.
This report - the first of its kind in Britain - aims to draw industry's attention to waste management, but does not tackle the whole subject of waste. Rather, it focuses on the issues surrounding waste, our attitudes to it and the long-term implications for British firms if they ignore the subject any longer.
'Waste: Somebody Else's Problem' is designed to give directors and managers a grasp of the essential principles of waste management in the UK. While reading it, you may find yourself asking questions about your own business and about how reviewing your waste management systems could deliver competitive advantage over your business rivals.
To help us reach our conclusions, we commissioned MORI to question a representative sample of 100 companies on their attitudes towards waste. The survey findings make it strikingly obvious that industry needs to come to terms with its most unloved by-product.
Indeed, British industry must recognise the emotive nature of its waste, and the potential damage to corporate reputation caused by poor waste management. But it is also essential that companies recognise the tremendous potential for financial gain from modern waste management. Waste is set to be the next frontier of competitive advantage; by simply looking in their dustbins, companies can find new ways to improve their internal business performance. The subject of waste needs to be put on every boardroom agenda in the country.
The whole issue of waste, and how we as a nation deal with it, is of fundamental importance. Waste has to be managed in line with a clear strategy, but at the present time, there is no comprehensive statistical data available, to generally agreed standards, that indicates the volume and type of waste being produced by UK plc. As a result, future strategy will be founded on unreliable data.
The Government has promised that the new Environment Agency will formulate a waste strategy but the Agency has yet to be launched. Until then, Britain is without a reliable analysis of the waste being produced by industry. Added to this, when the Agency is launched, it is likely that the regulation of the waste industry will prove to be a daunting task. At present, the top waste management companies are scrutinised very closely by the regulatory bodies, but the rest of the industry, some 3000 other small companies, are difficult to monitor and thereby escape the level of scrutiny enjoyed by the top companies.
Finally, it is clear that UK plc needs to come to terms with its waste. Companies need to formulate waste management strategies and as a nation we must recognise the need for more disposal facilities. Above all, we need accurate information on the type and amount of waste being produced by UK plc each year. We will be using this report to pursue these objectives. We will also be urging Government, industry and the appropriate pressure groups to join with us in developing a consensus of opinion on these issues.
I hope you find this report stimulating and that you enjoy reading it.
Martin Bettington, Managing Director, Biffa Waste Services
Summary of main MORI findings
100 companies were asked about their attitudes to waste.
- Nine in ten managers say the cost of waste disposal is important, but eight in ten do not consider their competitors' waste practices as important
- Around half do not currently gain any commercial benefit from their waste
- Although almost all (96%) felt that compliance with the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA) was important, three in five were not aware of the penalties for breaking the law - and of those who claimed to know the possible penalties, around only one in ten knew that unlimited fines were possible
- Surprisingly, a small hard core of around one in ten did not know anything about the Environmental Protection Agency or its implications
- Half do not feel their existing waste management practices can be improved, yet two in five feel that waste management is important to profitability
- Almost nine in ten say they are concerned about the environmental impact of the waste they produce, but one in five do not consider the method used for their waste disposal to be important
- Over half say they are not concerned about their shareholders' view on their company's waste practices but, interestingly, a similar proportion say that their customers' views are important
