We continue to work hard to reduce waste within our business. Waste created by inefficient use of resources and rising landfill tax represents a significant cost to the business. In response, we have been operating recycling and waste reduction initiatives for several years.
This year, we introduced dry mix recycling to many of our High Street stores. This system of recycling will enable our stores to recycle most forms of waste, including plastics and metals that we could not previously recycle. As a result, we have seen a 10.5 per cent increase in the volume of waste being recycled, with consequent landfill tax savings. We continue to look for opportunities to make further reductions in waste and, in the year ahead, plan to invest in more plastic skips as a way of reducing the number of cardboard boxes used and disposed of in peak periods.
We also maintained our recycling programme at our Swindon Head Office. Stations to collect plastic and glass bottles, aluminium cans, newspapers and magazines are located throughout the office, and are supported by staff.
Reducing packaging
We regularly review our product packaging to minimise waste created by our own-brand products. Excessive packaging continues to be a concern of consumers and environmental stakeholders. We share this concern as unnecessary packaging represents a triple cost to our business: the cost of the packaging, paying for it to be transported to our distribution centres and stores and the waste disposal costs once the packaging is discarded.
Each year, we are required to report the quantity of the packaging we handle to the Environment Agency and ensure that a set percentage of this material has been recycled, through payment of a packaging levy. This percentage is known as our packaging obligation. The total packaging handled in our business has fallen steadily in recent years, with this year’s figures showing a fall of three per cent from last year.
Reducing carrier bags
We continue to work hard to reduce the number of plastic carrier bags we hand out. Across the whole of our business our staff habitually ask customers whether they need a bag. This simple procedure helps to raise customer awareness of the importance of carrier bag reduction. In addition, as part of our Think Twice campaign which operates in many of our stores, customers can choose to pay 1p for a single use bag or buy a good quality reusable bag, made from 100 per cent recycled materials. WHSmith also offers a range of reusable bags, some made of fabric and others made of 100 per cent recycled plastic. We have been encouraged to see the sales of these bags increase this year.
Helping our customers to reduce waste
We want to make it as easy as possible for our customers to recycle the products that we sell when they reach the end of their lives. Collection points are in place in the majority of our stores for customers to recycle their old batteries. We also operate a recycling scheme for inkjet cartridges, working alongside our suppliers. Profits from the recycling go to Tommy’s the baby charity. In WHSmith own-brand inkjet cartridges, the interior packaging on the cartridge is compostable, reducing the environmental impact of this packaging by ensuring it degrades naturally.