Businesses understand that their customers’ needs are changing. No longer are they motivated solely by monetary savings. Today, they expect the businesses to whom they give their hard-earned money to have a strong commitment to operating in more ethical ways. This means ensuring that your team are well looked after and remunerated. It means ensuring that your customers have a voice. It means ensuring that everyone in your supply chain is well compensated… And it means ensuring that your waste is dealt with responsibly. From McDonald’s recycling their used cooking oil into biodiesel to the myriad of businesses finding more sustainable ways to dispose of their e-waste, the business world is full of recycling success stories. And in an age where consumers are voting for sustainability with their wallets, it requires all SMEs to recycle more. Whilst you may be doing great things with your recycled waste paper and cardboard, you may not be giving quite as much consideration to your plastics.
Fly the flag for CSR policies
More and more corporations are adopting their own Corporate Social Responsibility policies. Businesses can be held accountable to the public not just in terms of their environmental stewardship but in terms of how they treat their people and the finite resources they all share. When you have a clear policy on recycling your plastics you’re flying the flag for CSR and can make this a part of your manifesto for doing business with a social and environmental conscience. Overall, UK recycling rates are still below the EU target of 50%. Your policies can help you to stand head and shoulders above competitors who aren’t doing enough.
Reduce waste disposal costs
Waste disposal costs vary, ranging between £120 and £250 per tonne, so there’s lots of room for savings. What’s more, through compaction and a reduction in collections, there can be huge saving on the carbon footprint.
The recycling of plastics can sometimes make profits for all different types of businesses. For example, many distribution centres and retailers have waste shrink wrap. This material is most commonly made from LDPE which has a good value when baled. For information about our LDPE recycling service, click HERE.
Protect your local environment
Businesses of all shapes and sizes can no longer turn a blind eye to the impact that improper waste management has on the local environment, and the damage that it can do to plant life and animal habitats. When you recycle your plastics, you take a strong stand in favor of protecting your local ecosystem and make your business a friend to the plants and animals with which you share your space.
Motivate your team
Everyone wants to be the good guy. Everyone works a little harder and goes home feeling a little more satisfied, knowing that the work they’ve done has made a difference. And when you take a strong stance on recycling, your team have the peace of mind that comes from knowing that their employer cares as much about ethics as they do about profit.
If your treatment of plastic is a PR disaster waiting to happen, make sure that you incorporate plastic recycling into your CSR policies. The battle for a better tomorrow has already begun. Make sure that your business is seen to be on the frontlines!
