B&S and PreZero to tackle waste together
Being resource conscious is a key pillar of our 2030 sustainability strategy. Supporting a circular economy and managing waste streams responsibly will be part of that journey. Kachiri Brugts, Facility Director at B&S: “In PreZero, we’ve found a partner to assist us in shaping our waste management ambitions. They’re helping us to gain insight into our waste streams, track our progress towards our goals, and enable us to correct course when needed.”
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Zero waste to landfill
“Our ambition is to send zero waste to landfill by 2030”, explains Desirée Liddle, Sustainability Manager at B&S. “To this end, we aim to recycle at least 80% of our waste. In addition, we have set the goal of reducing the amount of waste we produce by halving our food and medical waste”. We have identified two ways to achieve our objectives; fostering a change of mindset internally and viewing waste as a resource.
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Change starts from within
Kachiri: “The first step is to increase awareness. Because we have to work together to accomplish our goals. We want to make things as accessible as possible for all our employees, whether they work in warehouses or offices. Providing training and ensuring clear signage are key to making a significant impact”. By being transparent and assertive about the actions we have already taken and explaining the direction we will take in the coming years, we aim to get everyone on board. As a boost to this, later this year we will launch an internal campaign specifically dedicated to waste management.
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Treating waste as a valuable resource
The second step is to analyse and monitor the data of what we're throwing away. Desiree: “And yes, in order to truly understand what’s going well and what is not, we also go through the trash ourselves. This enables us to make targeted improvements for segregating our various waste streams even more effectively. As a result, our waste partner can better process and recycle our waste which in turn saves us money. We really need to start looking at waste as a valuable resource, not just as a cost.”
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Processing ground coffee
Since June 2022 we broadened our partnership with Prezero to process ground coffee from our Dordrecht location. Over 250 million kilos of coffee grounds end up in residual waste every year. Yet coffee grounds are also a valuable resource that can be for example be used as an ingredient in soap or as material for notebooks and reusable coffee cups. More locations will follow as of 2023.
A clear path forward
“We’re just getting started, but we’re ambitious”, says Kachiri. “We look at our own waste streams differently now and see new opportunities”. Being resource conscious truly starts with understanding what you’re throwing away and how you’re disposing of that waste. Along the way, you discover that there are so many improvements we can make that will benefit not just the planet, but our business as well. Other types of waste that we segregate are glass, hazardous waste, wood and coffee ground.
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