Last September Environcom visited the RPS stand at the RWM Exhibition in Birmingham. Initial discussions focussed on RPS providing Environcom with a solution to manage the unwanted pallets that deliver waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) to their Grantham site.
The brief
At the time Environcom disposed of the pallets on an ad hoc basis, often with applied disposal charges for taking the pallets and wood waste away. RPS was invited to develop a solution to systemise the control of pallets on the Grantham site by sorting the pallets and implementing an efficient structure to remove any unwanted pallets. Historically wood waste had been collected from the site using a 40 yard skip incurring a disposal cost to the business.
After an initial visit to the Grantham site RPS could see that the best solution going forward would be to implement a pallet sortation and repair area and employ dedicated staff to control the pallets and wood waste generated. This way RPS could sort the pallets good from bad, responsibly dispose of the scrap wood and generate value from the good pallets, of which a rebate could be fed back to Environcom.
How RPS has helped
RPS has established a dedicated team that is permanently based on the Grantham site. A robust system of pallet sortation was implemented to derive the best cost savings to Environcom, through minimising disposal costs and by generating value from the good pallets.
Annually, Environcom generate in excess of 50,000 pallets and approximately 1,000 tonnes of wood waste. It was quickly established that the unwanted pallets that were previously considered a cost to dispose of did in fact have a residual value. To encourage environmental efficiencies the pallets have been re-introduced to the local market for reuse. Not only are these pallets now being reused, strengthening Environcom’s environmental compliance with the waste hierarchy and waste framework directive, but returning the pallets to the local packaging market minimises travelling distances reducing excessive impact on the environment through saved fuel consumption.
These actions have enabled RPS to turn what was once a cost to the Environcom business into a valuable revenue stream.
The benefits
Not only has RPS worked hard to reduce the impact of wood waste, we have also set up a contract with a national wood recycling company to provide a free of charge collection service by operating a standing trailer on site. This supports the removal of the 40 yard wood skips and also eliminates the disposal costs paid by the business.
The operation has now been in action for four months and has proved to be a big success by generating revenue from what used to be a cost but also freeing up valuable on site yard space for key activities handling WEEE. Alongside the financial benefits generated, there is a fantastic environmental advantage for Environcom with the reduction in landfill tonnage. Not only does no wood waste leaving the site go to landfill, the unwanted pallets recovered are being placed back into the supply chain for reuse rather than being sent off for recycling.
Could RPS offer a similar solution for your business? Do you find yourself sending vast quantities of packaging to landfill that could be recovered and reuse but you don’t have the time to look into a solution? RPS will do all the work required to ensure you are fully compliant with legislation relating to the waste hierarchy and will endeavour to turn your packaging waste costs into a valuable revenue stream. Get in touch for further details by calling 01642 465556 or check out our other case studies to see how we have helped other businesses with their packaging strategies.
