Reduce, reuse,
repair and
recycle

Commentary

Background Businesses in England and Wales produce 30 million tonnes of waste each year. About a third of this waste is recycled or composted, and two-thirds goes to landfill.i

Context Waste recycling and accounting systems are operational across CFS for paper, fluorescent tubes, printer cartridges and a whole variety of other electrical wastes. All other recycling systems operate at main offices only (accounting for 65% of office based staff). The bank has reported on waste management activities since 1997, and CIS since 2001. General waste at smaller premises is disposed of via landlords' waste disposal facilities.

Reduce, reuse, repair and recycle Recycling activities at CFS' main offices continue to be well above the average for an office environment, with 70% of waste recycled during 2003. Compared with 2002, total recycling increased by 5.7% at CIS, but fell by 9.3% at the bank. However, in 2002, bank recycling performance was supported by a 'one off' disposal of 181 tonnes of paper at Prescot Street, London. Setting this aside, underlying performance improved by 22.4% during 2003. At CIS, accounting systems were extended to include furniture and fluorescent tubes in 2003. Discounting these materials, recycling decreased slightly by 1.4%. A sharp increase in general waste (56%) suggests that recyclable waste materials produced during relocation activities (predominantly paper) are entering landfill. To address this, measures to improve employee access to waste segregation facilities at CIS were introduced in December 2003.   Environment Agency statistics indicate that an average office recycles just 7.5% of its waste.ii At main offices, CFS recycled 70% of its waste during 2003.

Awards During 2003, the bank's Cornhill branch received a Platinum Award from the Corporation of London's Clean City Awards for its waste management.iii Also, CIS was short- listed for 'Best Waste Minimisation Project of the Year' at the 2003 National Recycling Awards.iv

Recycling - end of life fate At the outset of 2003, CIS and the bank utilised different recycling service providers. However, in October the bank's main provider ceased trading. Within two weeks, thanks to the hard work of staff and suppliers, all waste streams had been successfully diverted to CIS' incumbent providers, without the need for any recyclates to be diverted to landfill. In parallel, the consolidation of CIS and bank recycling systems provided the opportunity for improved weight measurement to be introduced. The majority of CFS' paper is reprocessed into Co-op 100% recycled toilet tissue and Co-op 100% recycled kitchen towels for sale in Co-op stores.v Cans are segregated into aluminium and steel, and are passed to Alcan and EMR for recycling.vi Plastic bottles are passed to Materials Recovery Ltd vii and are reprocessed into general plastic goods. Plastic cups (78% of which are recyled) are passed to Save-a-Cup,viii and items such as pencils, rulers, coasters, and garden furniture are subsequently produced. Fluorescent tubes are passed to Mercury Recycling Ltd,ix where light components are separated for reuse and toxic mercury is distilled from the phosphor powder. Electrical equipment is transferred to Tier 1 Asset Management Ltd.x If hardware is of sufficient quality, it is resold following the removal of data. Where this is not possible, reusable components are harvested and heavy components and magnetics are recycled. Precious metals are assayed and recovered, and any hazardous components are removed and sent for specialist disposal. Batteries are sent to the SNAM recycling plant in France.xi Mobile phones are passed to Shields Environmental Ltd xii and monies raised donated to the charity Wateraid. Details of CFS' partnership with WaterAid can be found here.

 By comparison, according to their Sustainability Report 2002, Credit Suisse Group generated 92kg of general waste per employee (cf. 98kg at CFS' main offices).

Sustainability value analysis

• Annual cost of recycling activities at CFS (including third party contracts and capital investment), £89,000.
• During 2003, 1,573 tonnes of waste were reused/recycled by CFS, resulting in an annual saving in waste costs of £183,500.
• During 2003, 183 items of furniture were reused by the bank, and 1,118 items were reused by CIS, resulting in an annual saving of £165,000.

Influence and action

Recycling Market prices for recyclate are very unstable, and this has a particular impact on smaller 'recycling' businesses, such as co-operatives and social enterprises. In September 2003, this matter was raised with the UK Minister for the Environment, Elliot Morley MP, and it was suggested that additional financial support mechanisms be made available. The Minister agreed to raise the matter with the Chief Executive Officer of the Government's Waste Resources Action Programme (WRAP).xiii Earlier in the year (August 2003), CFS contributed to a WRAP waste management consultation and highlighted the need for local authorities to 'buy recycled' and for disposable nappy manufacturers to use biodegradable plastics.

i DETR (2000).
ii Green Officiency Guide (2000). ETBPP.
iii www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/corporation
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iv www.nationalrecyclingawards.com/
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v www.co-op.co.uk
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vi During 2003, CFS recycled 136,776 metal cans and four tonnes of plastic bottles.
vii www.materialsrecovery.co.uk
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viii www.save-a-cup.co.uk
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ix www.mercuryrecycling.co.uk
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x www.tier1.com
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xi www.snam.com
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xii www.shields-e.com
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xiii www.wrap.org.uk
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