Foreword

by Martin Bettington, Managing Director, Biffa Waste Services

The industry sector reports

Click on the sector icon or the title to read the report.

CHEMICAL:

Professor Laurence Weatherley, The Queen's University of Belfast

Laurence Weatherley is the DuPont Professor of Process Engineering in the Department of Chemical Engineering. He has particular interest in the development of clean technology and separation processes and the department itself has wide expertise in waste minimisation in the chemical industry. The interviews were carried out by the Process Engineering Design Centre, the commercial contract unit within the department, which has an excellent track record of tackling environmental and process problems.

CONSTRUCTION:

Dr David Buchanan, The University of Strathclyde

Dr David Buchanan has been involved in civil engineering since 1979, and has expertise in environmental management, in particular relating to the disposal of waste to landfill. The Department of Civil Engineering at Strathclyde offers opportunities for advanced research in engineering and construction disciplines and the Department's recently established Centre for Environmental Management Studies provides consultancy for local industry.

ENGINEERING:

Dr Geoff Freeman, University of Warwick

The research was developed and co-ordinated by Warwick Research Institute, part of the University of Warwick. The Research Institute has a particular remit to encourage inter-disciplinary research activities across a wide variety of subjects, such as the waste management project. The British Waste Management Forum was led by Dr Geoff Freeman, Director of the Statistical Consultancy Unit at the University of Warwick. Geoff Freeman has published more than 100 research papers, acted as a consultant on major research projects, and has wide experience in environmental issues.

BREWING AND DISTILLING:

Mr Keith Murray, Heriot Watt University

The International Centre for Brewing and Distilling IICBD) was established in 1988 as part of Heriot Watt University, where interests in the industry stretch back to the turn of the century. Keith Murray is a senior lecturer at Heriot Watt and currently sits on the Board of Examiners. He is director of the joint MSc programme on Environmental Pollution Control.

FOOD AND RETAILING:

Dr Faisal Salam, University of Sunderland

Dr Faisal Salam is a senior lecturer at the School of the Environment, part of the University of Sunderland. The School is a leading European centre for education, training, research and consultancy in disciplines concerned with the environment.

PUBLIC SERVICES AND UTILITIES:

Mr Paul Hillman, University of Southampton

Paul Hillman is a member of The Environmental Engineering Research Group, part of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Southampton. He has over 25 years of experience as a civil and public health supervisor and has advised the World Health Organisation on environmental health matters

DISTRIBUTION:

Mr Bill Mayon-White, Cranfield University

Bill Mayon-White joined the International Ecotechnology Research Centre lIERC) at Cranfield University in 1989 to work in system theory and change. The IERC promotes inter-disciplinary work on the changing relationship between science, society and the environment. Cranfield University itself is one of Europe's largest centres of advanced environmental research consultancy and teaching and Cranfield's Centre for Logistics and Transportation provides an international focal point for advanced research in the distribution sector.

Conclusions

Key sensitivities

Key Regional Findings

Bibliography

Methodology

When Biffa brought together some of the country's leading academics to form the British Waste Management Forum, it asked The University of Warwick to develop and lead the Forum's research activities.

Warwick was asked to develop a robust methodology to benchmark the waste management practices, awareness and costs to UK companies. The methodology would need to stand up to rigorous scrutiny in any industry sector and would need to establish an overall picture of waste management policies across the UK.

Warwick Research Institute, part of The University of Warwick, undertook to create a telephone questionnaire, which went through five drafts before it was piloted among 30 companies in the automotive industry in the west Midlands. The pilot proved invaluable in identifying potential problems and the final questionnaire (Version 7) was then used by all the academic institutions to conduct the overall benchmarking research project.

A total of 420 companies were interviewed, with 60 companies in each of seven industry sectors. The research was carried out by the members of the British Waste Management Forum, using their particular expertise on waste issues within specific industry sectors.

The survey encompassed companies of all sizes in each sector. These were measured by turnover - companies with less than £10 million, £1049 million, £50-99 million and over £100 million. Similarly, attempts were made to obtain a fair geographical spread across the UK, but the nature of the industries themselves meant that this was not always possible without distorting the sample.

Interviews were carried out by the British Waste Management Forum during December 1993 and January 1994. The completed questionnaires were subsequently returned to the Statistical Consultancy Unit at The University of Warwick for tabulation. The results were then analysed by Biffa and the academics of the Forum. The conclusions reached form the basis of this report.

The research is supported by case studies of exemplary waste management initiatives adopted by leading organisations within each sector. The sectoral findings are put into context by a summary of legislation particularly affecting the industry, the process changes the industry will need to make to meet legislative and fiscal pressures, and areas where the sector impacts upon the environment.

Until now, UK plc has lacked data on industry waste management practices. We believe that this is the first comprehensive research project into waste issues of its kind, both in terms of breadth - across seven key sectors - and in scope. It will provide companies with reliable information on attitudes and practices within their own sectors and by comparison with industry across the UK. As such, we believe that it will stand as an important benchmark against which UK industry will be able to measure future progress and developments in waste management.

Dr Geoff Freeman, The University of Warwick
Project co-ordinator, British Waste Management Forum