With less foreign travel going ahead in the midst of the pandemic, we asked our founder Guy Cherry some questions regarding the impact of the staycation on councils and the waste industry in the UK.
Q – What impact do you think the recent staycation trend has had on the British waste industry?
A – I’d imagine that waste volumes will have increased. With commercial sites being in lockdown and the country quite literally having to stay at home, it’s feasible that councils will have had to deal with more waste than usual. Independent operators, regional and national, will always look to recycle and use waste in energy recovery. By comparison, councils still have a high landfill profile and so potentially more waste could now be going to landfill.
Q – What advice would you give to businesses in the tourism industry dealing with an increased amount of waste?
A – Maintaining a robust collection service is paramount. We have supported our clients in this sector by working though potential scenarios based on increased foot fold and, as a result, have increased lifts and provided more waste containers where necessary and in line with the regional areas of release from lockdown; I’d always suggest it’s better to have more containers or more collections booked in than be short and have to double handle waste potentially. It’s about being flexible and supporting clients at this time to help in getting them back up and running.
Q – Are local councils able to properly manage and efficiently dispose of the waste? Especially when it is unlikely that the waste will be properly separated by members of the public?
A – There is no reason why efficient waste disposal should be compromised in any way during Covid-19. The sector was granted Key Worker status and so waste collections should be happening as usual. The councils rely heavily on front end separation whereas the commercial sector has better resource in place to collect and sort waste away from the point of origin; its more efficient and isn’t impacted by cross contamination in the same way council collections can be.
Q – If GPT could make one recommendation to business in the industry, what would it be and why?
A – Evaluate your needs and keep your waste provider up to date with your requirements. We feel it’s very much about helping and assisting clients at a difficult and challenging time to support them and remove any concerns that they may have.
Our approach has made us the UK’s leading independent waste management company. To speak to someone about your waste management requirements, call 0844 854 5000 or email info@gptwaste.com.
