How to better understand your waste and recycling
You need to decide whether to provide waste and recycling services for your clients, or whether your clients will be responsible for disposing of their own waste. Taking on this responsibility as the facilities management company ensures you know that all waste and recycling has been disposed of responsibly and in accordance with the new regulations. If your clients are responsible for their own waste, your agreement with them should include a requirement that they comply with the new regulations.
Doing a waste audit could be a useful way of seeing what type of waste your facilities and clients produce. If you already arrange waste collection for your client(s), you should be aware of the types and volumes of waste produced. Use this to think about how many containers you will need for both and waste to ensure you comply with the new regulations.
The areas where you are most likely to generate waste could be:
From food courts, stall holders, exhibitors, mobile caterers, and on-site kitchens producing food (preparation waste), packaging such as metal, glass, cardboard, plastic films and wrapping
Front of house – food and food packaging, drinks cans, plastic and glass bottles, and drinks cartons, and
Operational areas, backstage areas, staff room/mess room/office – food and food packaging, drinks cans, plastic and glass bottles, and drinks cartons.
Your clients' activities and businesses may also generate types of , such as paints, oils or chemicals that require a specialised waste collection service.
If you are managing a facility on behalf of a client, your client may prohibit the use of certain packaging types. For example at a shopping village, hospital campus, airport, or sports stadium the client may not permit glass beverage containers such as bottles or drinking glasses to be used or sold from the food court and catering outlets for health and safety reasons. If this is the case, use the terms and conditions in your trader or catering agreements to prevent the use of prohibited items, and require alternatives such as reusable or refillable packaging to be used instead.
Good to know
There is a ban on Single Use Plastic including plastic cutlery, drink stirrers, polystyrene products and restrictions on single use plastic plates, bowls and trays, drinking straws and cotton buds.
Your organisation is responsible for assessing risks associated with storage, handling or use of waste and of implementing effective control measures to avoid and control any identified risks. Hazards associated with poor waste management may include:
Accumulations of waste blocking emergency access or escape routes, presenting trip or fire hazards and attracting vermin – reduce health and safety risks by ensuring waste storage areas are located away from flammable sources, and that flammable materials such as cardboard are stored in sealed or secure containers;
Inappropriate waste storage area and collection timings – identify suitable waste storage area(s) with restricted public access which prevent waste collection vehicles from encountering the public. Consider proportionate mitigations associated with the size and scale of your site, and
Injury to workers due to handling waste, for example needle stick injuries, back strains caused by excessive manual handling, and possible infection by pathogens such as tetanus.