Case Study
The Core Shopping Centre, Leeds
The Core Shopping Centre recycling success in Leeds’ is now second to none. The Core provide a quality shopping and leisure facility for the general public. With a range of stores to suite everyone. The Core sees a high footfall of customers daily and to cope with such demand they need a waste provider that puts recycling and customers at the forefront.
In 2015 Carbon Neutral B&M Waste Services were appointed to improve The Core’s waste management efficiencies. Recycling-led B&M offer customers an initial site audit to determine current practices, and then suggest changes which will improve recycling, reduce frequency of collections, which subsequently reduces the cost of the service.
The audit at The Core was completed and B&M identified that, being a shopping centre, there was a large amount of dry mixed recyclables such as packaging. Additionally, due to the number of restaurants and cafes on site there was a significant quantity of food waste, which was being placed in general waste containers so wasn’t being recycled. This was also causing a health and safety problem of very heavy bins.
Following the survey, the waste flow was analysed, and to tackle the problem of heavy bins, The B&M Food Waste Station was trialled. The B&M Food Waste Station removes the liquid from the food, reducing the volume and weight of this waste. This lower volume reduces the frequency of collections required. What little is left is collected when the container is full and processed in an anaerobic digestion facility, to either generate energy from the waste or pellets for animal feed.
A drop front baler has been installed to maximise cardboard recycling and reduce frequency of collections. The drop front makes filling the baler easier to access, and therefore encourages use, thus recycling levels increase. As more waste is baled it means fewer collections are needed, reducing The Core’s carbon footprint further.
In addition to the larger pieces of equipment The Core have ensured segregation of their general, dry mixed recycling and plastic waste through the introduction of several 1100litre containers for each waste stream. Each piece of equipment and waste container is appropriately stickered to clearly demonstrate which waste streams are to go where. This simple signage further encourages recycling.
As part of B&M Waste’s unique service offering, ongoing account management involves continuing to work with The Core and suggest any other services or equipment that will benefit the shopping centre in the future. The Core can follow the progress they are making with their recycling on the bespoke environmental reports they receive. These reports show exactly how much of their waste has been recycled and where.
Denise Jeffery, Centre Manager at The Core Shopping Centre, said “We have always worked hard to segregate and recycle waste, but with help and the latest innovations from B&M Waste we have begun to recycle more than we thought possible. They are friendly, reliable and competitively priced, and we now achieve 90% diversion from landfill for our waste.”
Mick Ashall, Director at B&M Waste Services said “The Core have been very forward thinking in their approach to introducing a sustainable waste management solution which is easy to understand and simple for cleaning staff, tenants and patrons alike. The introduction of segregation, in particular cardboard has boosted recycling efficiencies and have saved the equivalent to 19 trees in terms of carbon impact on the environment over the last 12 months. The introduction of the latest equipment will further improve this over the coming year.
