PHS Group plc

Other News

• ORWAK celebrates 35 years!
  6 Feb 2008
  1973 was a truly amazing year! America was pushing the boundaries of space exploration by launching the first American Space Station and Russia successfully launched ‘Mars 5’ to detail the surface of Mars.



• Not all FMs prepared for changes in waste law, says PHS Survey
  1 Nov 2007
  Despite the fact that changes to the EU Landfill Directive on 30th October 2007 place a new, legal obligation upon organisations to "pre-treat" waste sent to landfill (which in most cases means segregating and recycling what we can first), only a little over half of facilities managers are aware of this fact, and knowledge of how to comply is sporadic, according to the 18th PHS Quarterly FM Survey, published in November.



• Recycled bales stretching from London to Casablanca and back…
  30 Oct 2007
  How Orwak is helping businesses meet the challenges of the Landfill Directive



Page 1, 2, 3

News Archive

Not all FMs prepared for changes in waste law, says PHS Survey

Despite the fact that changes to the EU Landfill Directive on 30th October 2007 place a new, legal obligation upon organisations to "pre-treat" waste sent to landfill (which in most cases means segregating and recycling what we can first), only a little over half of facilities managers are aware of this fact, and knowledge of how to comply is sporadic, according to the 18th PHS Quarterly FM Survey, published in November.

The Survey, in which 200 UK facilities management professionals were interviewed in August 2007, investigated organisational awareness of the surge in new and amended waste legislation in recent years, and how FMs are responding to the challenges presented. It revealed that we’re better informed about some laws than others, and that FMs should be more pro-active in preparing for new laws affecting waste management, before they come into effect.  Especially so, when there are plenty of government and other good websites available to help.

In respect of the Landfill Directive, only 56% of interviewed FMs were aware that a change had taken place, which would have implications for their organisations’ waste management procedures.   Of these, 28% knew (or guessed) that they had to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill, a quarter knew that they had to recycle what had to be recycled, 20% knew that they had to segregate waste and just 16% were familiar with the central point – the need to "pre-treat" waste.  And, despite the looming deadline for compliance at the time of interview, over half the survey respondents were either still planning or were unsure about what they’d be doing about it. 
Awareness of the Producer Responsibility (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2007 (AKA the Packaging Regulations) was slightly better at 63%, which is a little surprising as not all businesses are equally affected.  They apply to any business producing more than 50 tonnes of packaging a year, with a turnover exceeding £2 million.   Awareness was greater in the private sector portion of the sample (70%) than in the public sector (55%), most likely because more private sector respondents manufactured or distributed products that need packaging (43%) compared to public sector respondents (9%).  However, again, nearly a quarter (22%) of ‘aware’ respondents were still unsure about what they had to do to comply.

The Waste Electronics and Electrical Equipment Directive (the WEEE Directive), which came into effect on 1st July, was better known - by 83% of the survey sample.  This stipulates that organisations may no longer dispose of redundant IT equipment like printers, computers and fax machines with their general waste and, encouragingly, the specialist nature of this type of waste was recognised by most.  Sixty five percent of ‘WEEE aware’ respondents said they passed their redundant IT equipment to a dedicated computer recycler.

The survey also indicated the emergence of a strong organisational recycling culture in the UK, with recycled waste ranging from paper (88%), cardboard (74%) and cans (50%) through to printer cartridges (7%), oils (2%) and polystyrene (1%).  Added to this, a healthy 42% of respondents said they had a waste compactor or baler on site, which probably reflects the rise in taxation – including Landfill Tax - employed by the Government, alongside legislation, to change our waste disposal habits.

Peter Cohen, chief executive of the PHS Group plc, comments, "The PHS Quarterly FM Survey was launched for the benefit of our customers, to reveal interesting and relevant facts for Facilities Managers about their industry and about the practices and opinions of their peers.  We hope the results of this survey will inform and support the business community in reviewing waste management practice, in line with current legislation."