73 NEED TO KNOW / RECYCLING November / December 2023 - Issue 345 www.printmonthly.co.uk While recycling is far from a new concept, the way that we recycle and the options available to us are constantly evolving and improving. Not so long ago, houses across the UK would have a single black wheelie bin for all their waste. Fast forward to the current day and now we have four, five, or even more bins so that we can recycle as much waste as possible. This is very much the same within the business world, including print, where new services and solutions allow companies to recycle more than ever. Whether this is something as simple as a dedicated bin in the canteen for aluminium drinks cans or working alongside a waste management specialist to repurpose print waste, there is plenty you can do to boost your environmental credentials. Here, we speak with several specialists within this area to find out more about some of the schemes available to print service providers (PSPs) and the benefits recycling offers to your business. Attract And Retain Customers First up is Reconomy, which provides waste management services to various sectors including the print industry. Director Jon Hutton, who spoke about the subject at The Print Show 2023, says sustainability and circularity are becoming increasingly important throughout the supply chain in the printing sector – and PSPs need to respond. “Best-in-class recycling is no longer a ‘tick box exercise,’ but core to attracting and retaining customers down the sales funnel and across the supply chain,” Hutton says, adding: “We all have a duty to increase our focus on sustainability. “It is an alarming statistic that globally it is estimated that around 90% of the materials we use are virgin, with just a 7% recycling rate. While commercial pressures will obviously dictate behaviour to a degree, the printing industry has its own duties to preserve our finite resources and improve circularity.” Hutton goes on to say that waste management should not be viewed as just a cost, be that in terms of time or money. He explains that businesses that assess their waste management strategies are likely to be able to bring forward small changes that help them cut costs, navigate towards their sustainability objectives, and benefit their commercial operations. “Even small alterations to their existing processes, like maximising the containment of existing waste, drive savings,” Hutton says, adding: “This is particularly SET ON SUSTAINABILITY A key part of any sustainability strategy, we take a closer look at recycling and some of the options available to print companies seeking to improve their environmental credentials
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