Rubbish round table leads to huge savings for whg

Walsall based social housing provider whg has made huge savings since the launch of an innovative new waste segregation scheme.

whg has reduced costs relating to waste collection, redirecting funds into improved services for customers, as well as significantly reducing items going to landfill.

Following a ‘rubbish round table’ discussion in 2022, triggered by an increase in collection costs for bulky and hazardous waste and a rise in fly tipping, colleagues from across the organisation came up with the idea of introducing waste segregation units on their estates, which have been created on the unused land of old garage sites.

The waste segregation, focussing initially on hazardous waste, tyres and electrical items, was bought in-house in July, with whg paying for waste to be collected by the tonne rather than per item and resulting in a saving of over £20,000 in the first month of the scheme, with similar savings in each of the following months to date.

Prior to the waste segregation system being launched, monthly disposal costs were as high as £47,000 but have now been reduced to below £25,000 per month, with huge savings being redirected into services for customers and their homes.

whg, as part of its ambitious sustainability goals, is also working towards zero waste going to landfill and was already sending less than 5% of waste to landfill, in addition to celebrating its tenth year of success following an audit of its Environmental Management System (ISO 14001), with auditors praising whg’s training and waste management systems.

The reduction in waste sent to landfill is also enhanced by working with partners including Old Hall People’s Partnership and Home Maintenance Services on initiatives to reuse and salvage as many items as possible, as well as segregating cardboard and wood from other waste for recycling.

Due to the use of the new securely fenced segregation units, customers have also benefited from a reduction in unsightly and potentially dangerous waste waiting for collection on whg’s estates.

Samuel Butler, Health, Safety and Environmental Officer for whg, said: “The amount of fly tipping our neighbourhoods were seeing prior to this scheme meant that the removal of hazardous waste alone was set to use up the majority of our annual waste disposal budget, so we knew we needed to act and find an innovative solution to this issue.

“By introducing the waste segregation site, we estimate an annual saving of £80,000 and are now looking into rolling the idea out to introduce further segregation sites. It’s great to see the success of this initiative and to know that the savings will hugely benefit customers as well as the environment.”

Jo Shields, whg’s Head of Sustainability & ESG, who was recently shortlisted for this year’s Unlock Net Zero Climate Champions Power List, added: “At whg, we are always open to new ways to reduce our impact on the environment as well as providing additional benefits for our customers, and the waste segregation scheme has been a real success story in terms of meeting both of those goals, with significant savings and benefits seen so far.”