Policy Commitment:
Minimising the generation of waste, particularly paper, and implementing reuse and recycling initiatives

Environmental Management Programme Objective:
To Reduce The Amount Of Waste Disposed To Landfill

8.1 Introduction to the Issue
Production of waste is placing an increasing burden on the environment in relation to disposal options, such as the use of landfill sites. The best course of action is to reduce the amount of waste produced in the first place, but this is not always possible and the main routes available for waste disposal are landfill or foul sewer (liquid wastewater).  The introduction of the Landfill Tax has increased the cost of waste disposal and therefore there is a financial as well as environmental incentive for us to reduce the amount of waste produced.

Recycling can save money through reduced waste disposal costs, and in some areas of the country (where demand is high) recyclable wastes, such as oil, paper, cardboard and aluminium cans, can have a value.

Escape of waste or litter can result in a pollution incident or cause nuisance to neighbouring residents.

There are key items of legislation that apply to waste management that we need to comply with, both now and in the future.  Under the Environmental Protection (Duty of Care) Regulations for non-hazardous waste, and the Special Waste Regulations for hazardous waste, we have a responsibility to ensure that all wastes leaving its sites are removed by legally registered waste contractors to appropriately licenced disposal facilities. We should also be provided with appropriate waste transfer documentation so that the entire disposal route of the waste can be tracked.

The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997 were introduced under the Environment Act 1995, as required by an EC Directive. The legislation affects all UK companies in the packaging chain that handle (put on the market) more than 50 tonnes (or more) of packaging per annum and which from 2000 have an annual turnover of £2 million (reduced from £5 million).

8.2 Current Status

8.2.1 Waste Streams
We have identified the following key waste streams:
 
 

Waste Stream	Action
Packaging waste, including polythene and cardboard	Packaging for our consumer products is either left with the customer, retained in the installer's van, or returned to a distribution centre.
Videotape	Recycled and then offered for resale and use by educational establishments. and the residual amount (approx 100 tapes per week) are disposed of as domestic waste See case study
Contract caterers' waste	During Outside Broadcasts, catering waste is generated from the on-site staff canteens (mobile kitchens and dining cars). 700 to 1000 outside broadcasts are made per annum therefore cumulatively a considerable amount of waste is produced.
Confidential paper-based customer information	Currently this is shredded and sent to landfill but we are considering alternatives (taking into account data protection requirements)
General (domestic/office) waste	At present our domestic/office waste streams contain a lot of paper and packaging, little of which is currently recycled. Only white paper is recycled at Osterley. No recycling schemes are in place in Scotland, beyond toner cartridges, due to issues of space for recycling facilities and staff awareness. Recycling options are currently being investigated to apply across all our facilities.
Hazardous waste	Only a small amount of hazardous waste is produced from our sites, such as lead-acid batteries, waste oil and mixtures with water, for example interceptor cleaning residues.
IT hardware	We are participating in the 'Tools for Schools' initiative which makes use of old IT equipment, rather than disposing of them in landfill sites.
Canteen waste	Plans for a recycling scheme in the canteen at Osterley are at an advanced stage.  Trials have been successfully completed and we are currently preparing a business case for funding, in conjunction with our cleaning contractors.  Further investigation is needed into recycling methods and contractors, which to date appear both limited and expensive.

8.2.2 Legal Compliance
The environmental review carried out by external consultants revealed that we did not hold the full complement of waste disposal documentation required under the Environmental Protection (Duty of Care) Regulations 1991 and Special Waste Regulations 1996, on our sites that were visited.  A new National cleaning contractor has been appointed with responsibility for waste and recycling across the company.  They are now reviewing waste contractor documentation and recording waste production across all sites. Further requirements placed on them include monitoring by weight, and consolidation of waste contractors and procedures.  Such information will be used to complete subsequent environmental reports.

8.3 Performance Data
The following information is provided for three of the four sites that comprise greater than 90% of our performance.  Historically, information has not been available for the quantities of waste material collected from the sites (with any accuracy); however, costs for 2000 have been tracked and are presented as follows.
 
 

	BSkyB Sites
	Dunfermline	Livingston	Osterley	Chilworth
Annual waste management cost	Not available	£44,000	Estimated £30,000	£3,641

In consequence, the cost of waste disposal to company is in excess of £77,641 per annum.

8.4 Planned Actions to Improve
 
 

Action	Target Date
Confirm, categorise and quantify the waste streams that we produce·  Consider waste produced both on our sites and off site, such as packaging waste from consumer products and returned end-of-life/faulty electronic equipment. Seek data from current waste management contractors, invoices and sales figures Establish baseline amounts of waste disposed to landfill and amounts recycled by collecting data using standard form to enable subsequent performance target to be set.	2002/03
Identify opportunities to minimise the amount of waste produced.	Ongoing
Identify opportunities for reuse and recycling initiatives (and associated opportunities to make donations to charity).	Ongoing
Begin to implement reduction/reuse/recycling initiatives and record amounts reused and recycled for reporting purposes.	2002/03

8.5 Case Studies/Interesting Facts
Much of our videotape is reused and recycled.  When tapes have exceeded broadcasting quality, they are then offered to colleges for use.  Beneficiaries include Brighton University, Farnborough College and Ravensborne College of Media.  Where appropriate, tapes are also offered for resale.  We are exploring opportunities to move away from videotape use towards digital storage.