27 May 2005
“SMEs Need Recycling Boost,” Claims Online Packaging

Tonnes of waste that could be recycled is being binned every day by small UK businesses, according to Online Packaging.

The company, which supplies industrial packaging materials, believes that the authorities need to do more to facilitate recycling initiatives. It is often costly for small businesses to implement their own recycling schemes and there is also the problem of storing waste until it is collected - smaller organisations don’t always have enough space for bags and boxes of recyclable material which can become a fire hazard.

“Households are now actively encouraged to recycle everything from paper and plastic to bottles and food waste, with many local councils providing bins and collection services free-of-charge,” explained Chris Hutchens, managing director of Online Packaging. “Yet there are few such initiatives for small businesses, even though many use significant amounts of paper and cardboard each week.

“It’s not that smaller businesses don’t want to recycle,” he added. “It’s more a matter of motivation and making the process as efficient and hassle-free as possible. There are plenty of ways to achieve this, such as introducing a free collection service or a reward scheme for any SME that does recycle. If measures such as these were put into place, far more companies would recycle their waste, which can only be a good thing.”