Retail waste management

Retailers handle various products, most of which include packaging. Retail stores tend to specialise in particular products; for instance, some will deal with clothing, others may focus on foodstuff, and others may do both, depending on the size of the business. Some of the waste retailers produce include but are not limited to:

• Packaging waste
• Spoiled food
• Plastic waste
• Damaged fruits
• Organic waste
• Cardboard waste
• Glass
• Assorted metallic waste
• Clothes
• Different fabric waste
• E-waste

Every business and organisation in the UK needs a waste management plan. For retail businesses, a waste management plan will ensure all waste created is deposed of in the correct way and ensures efficient waste management systems are in place. A waste management system can identify areas where businesses are creating excess waste and reduce the amount of waste a retail business contributes to landfill.

There are a number of ways a retail business can reduce waste, including…

• Not over-purchasing products
• Reducing packaging and single-use plastics
• Making processes digital and reducing paper use

The most common types of retail waste include waste from packaging such as cardboard, plastic and paper and general waste from customers.

Site Waste Management Plans, or SWMPs, were introduced to reduce the amount of waste produced by a business. SWMPs are used by retail businesses to plan how any waste produced by their business will be managed. An SWMP will contain important information such as what waste needs to be recycled, disposed of or reused, and how the business will complete these processes. The plan must be regularly updated to ensure it accurately reflects the waste needs and obligations of a business.

Technically, there is no legal requirement for a retail business to have an SWMP, but introducing and maintaining one has numerous benefits for a business. For example, a business will be able to reduce costs by planning the most efficient waste management systems and increase their profits by using an SWMP to look at where they can reduce waste.

In 1997, the Packaging Waste Regulations were introduced in the UK. The new regulations stated retail businesses must meet the requirements of the European Directive for packaging waste. The regulations were introduced to encourage businesses to increase their use of recyclable packaging and decrease the amount of packaging they use altogether.

In 2015, the UK government introduced new UK waste regulations that asked businesses to separate their recyclable materials, from their non-recyclable materials. For example, businesses were required to have separate bins for their paper, plastic and glass waste. These regulations were introduced to help the UK increase its recycling efforts.

In today’s world, businesses are facing increasing pressure to ‘go green’ and create sustainable business models. This pressure is not only from the government but also from consumers. Today’s consumer is interested in the sustainability of a product and will avoid retail shops that have a reputation for treating the environment poorly.

On the other hand, a retail shop with a positive green reputation is seen as trustworthy by the consumer and will be able to build a positive reputation easily.

The bins commonly used in shopping centres can vary depending on the size of the shopping centre. For large shopping centres that receive a lot of deliveries, a 1100l cardboard recycling bin is frequently used as are balers, compactors and general waste bins.

If you are unsure whether your business needs a recycling baler, you must consider the pros of the baler. The benefits of using a recycling baler include streamlining your waste management system, as waste will be compressed into a bale that is easily stored freeing up valuable space and transported with ease. We have created a full guide to balers that you can read here.