Waste

Waste management in the food and drink sectors

Simply put waste costs money and efficient waste management planning saves money. This sums up the approach all companies must take to the waste issue. Regulatory control of waste disposal has changed significantly in the last decade and it has had an impact on how organisations deal with waste. There are also amazing achievements associated with waste minimisation and energy from waste programmes that have developed because of good business sense.

The landfill tax in the UK serves as an incentive to waste reduction and recovery. The UK Government is committed to increasing the rate charge for disposal of active waste by at least £3 each year from 2005/6 until the tax reaches £35 per tonne.  These increased revenues will be returned to business through the Business Resource Efficiency and Waste (BREW) Programme from 2005/6 which will enable businesses to be more efficient with waste management. The National Industrial Symbiosis Programme (NISP)

is funded by BREW and aims to partner resource efficiency solutions across industrial sectors.

Waste management within organisations will overlap with many other systems and regulatory issues. These will include Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) where permits will require clear evidence of waste management plans. Where waste is unavoidably produced, the IPPC regime requires that it is recovered or, if this is technically and economically impossible, that it is disposed of while avoiding or reducing environmental impact. IPPC is enforced by the Environment Agency. The NetRegs web site covers many aspects of IPPC. Household wastes are also an issue for the food sector, up to 30% of household waste is associated with food chain activities. These are a target for improvement via the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP).