Environmental Policy 2019

Great Western Recycling Environmental Policy

Great Western Recycling (GWR) commitment is to provide a World-class service that is sustainable and which aims to minimise the environmental impacts of our operations.

To meet our environmental commitment, we will:

• Meet and, where possible, exceed all current and future European and national environmental legislative and regulatory requirements.
• Adopt best operational practices to reduce environmental impacts of GWR activities and policies.
• Measure and take action to reduce the carbon footprint of our activities and ensure our buildings and services are able to adapt to environmental change.
• Monitor, manage and minimise GWR’s use of energy and water.
• Minimise the environmental impact of associated travel with our venues and business
• Minimise the amount of waste produced by GWR and customers to encourage greater reuse in recycling.
• Ensure environmental, including climate change, criteria are taken into account in the procurement of goods and services.
• Consider environmental factors in GWRs decisions and activities including giving due consideration to environmental issues and energy performance in the use of vehicles on the road and how we dispose of waste.
• Encourage and develop our partners employees, and customers to conduct their activities in an environmentally responsible manner.
• Only use suppliers that divert waste from landfill to a material recovery facility and ensure all waste services are zero to landfill.
• If a customer uses recycling bins, we will ensure that this never ends up with the general waste.

To ensure we meet our commitments, we undertake to periodically monitor and review our environmental performance and take corrective action where necessary.  This policy will be reviewed annually.

Environmental Sustainability at Great Western Recycling

Great Western Recycling is committed to addressing environmental sustainability and has developed a vision statement and associated goals to move us in this direction.

Vision and Goals

Great Western Recycling is committed to addressing environmental sustainability at its Keynsham site and has adopted the following vision:

“To be an environmentally sustainable organisation that contributes to the creation of a beautiful and sustainable world.”

In order to implement this vision, the following goals have been developed:

Goal 1: Understand GWR’s use of energy, water and waste generation and take action to meet and, where possible, exceed targets determined by the Government

Goal 2: To lead by example with the promotion and demonstration of environmental sustainability values.

Goal 3: To invest in electric vehicles moving forward wherever possible.

Environmental Sustainability Achievements

To realise the GWR vision and goals a number of actions are being implemented, and to date the following has been achieved:

– The introduction of sub-contractors for quieter rounds

Carbon offsets for less trucks on the road

– Invested in newer environmentally friendly machinery

   Carbon offsets

– Fuel consumption lowered

–  Introduction of paperless invoicing

– Reducing our paper usage and carbon footprint

– Zero to landfill policy

-Reducing waste in landfill sites and producing cleaner electricity.

Great Western Recycling is also addressing:

– Introduction of hybrid/electric vehicles on the road to reduce carbon emissions.

– Continuing to ensure all waste is diverted from landfill and we continue to ensure recycling is dealt with in the greenest possible way.

Great Western Recycling Sustainability Policy Statement

GWR recognises its sustainability obligations to its staff, visitors, communities and partners and to present and succeeding generations.

We aim to take a leading role in defining best sustainability practice and will set our own appropriate and demanding standards where none exist.

GWR are committed to implementing the requirements of all relevant sustainability legislation and regulations and, where possible, exceeding any relevant minimum requirements.

GWR will manage activities over which it has control and which impact upon its various ‘environments’ in accordance with the principles of sustainable development.

GWR aims to raise the sustainability awareness of its staff, visitors, customers and partners by promoting the concept of sustainable development and by openly recognising the on-going need to move towards a more sustainable future.

GWR will monitor its use of natural resources, both non-renewable and renewable, and maximise the efficiency and effectiveness with which they are used, with a view to minimising environmental impacts.

GWR will provide appropriate sustainability training and development for its staff, and will encourage them to apply sound sustainability practices at work, at home and within the wider community.

GWR is committed to transparency in, and public access, to the formulation and implementation of its Sustainability Policy and objectives. We will formulate, publish, implement and monitor objectives set out in the overall Policy, and will periodically review their efficiency and promote their continued development.

The Sustainability Policy of Great Western Recycling will be applicable to all its activities and across all its sites.