Waste Management Support Opportunity for SMEs

(17/10/2016) - Zero Waste Scotland would like to support three innovative initiatives to prevent waste at source, improve waste management practices and cut costs and carbon emissions for Small to Medium Enterprises (SME’s) in order to demonstrate the opportunities for more reuse and progressive waste prevention and management available across Scotland.

Downloads

• Waste Management Support Project Proposal

Three SME's or groups of SME's will be provided with technical expert support to prevent waste at source or to improve waste management and move up the waste hierarchy utilising innovative technologies, processes and/or initiatives.

We are open to suggestions around the topic and focus, however each project must demonstrate:

• cost and carbon savings
• collaboration
• innovation
• replicability

To get your ideas going, here are 3 of our ideas for approaches to the project:

1. Locale

Work in a small geographical area across a variety of businesses with different functions. This could include working with small town centres, Business Improvement Districts, shopping centres, industrial parks or multi-tenanted multi-functional buildings.

2. Function

A collaborative project with businesses that have similar functions which may all be in the same building or on the same site, for example shared office spaces, business parks or retail parks. As well as collaboration from the SME’s residing in the premises, the building’s owner, landlord and/or facilities’ management company may also need to be involved.

3. Sector

Working collaboratively with one particular sector. For example the retail sector which is recognised as a major waste producer, working with an individual retailer over several consumer facing sites including storage and/or distribution.

The projects might consider (but are not limited to):

• Supplier take-back
• Reverse logistics
• Local Waste Reduction Plan development and implementation.
• New technologies to reduce contamination of wastes
• Improve processes to reduce waste production
• Improve segregation of wastes
• Reduce waste management costs through collaboration
• Improve waste management operations in a local area to reduce traffic and carbon emissions in town centre and improved visual impact, compliance and segregation
• Take a technology used in one industry and applying it to another
• Identify re-use streams

Projects that are out of scope:

• Projects that relate solely to improving on-site waste management without reducing costs and cutting carbon emissions for the business
• Projects which only help an organisation to meet regulatory requirements (unless part of a wider project).
• Projects that include solely the development of staff awareness campaigns (unless part of a wider project).
• Projects that do not result in waste prevention or moving up the waste hierarchy.

Are you an SME, or do you represent a group of SME’s? Do you have a project that might fit the bill? Tell us about your suggested project, we'll have a look at it and be in touch soon to let you know what we think. Please download the project proposal form from the downloads section at the top right of this page, complete it and return to anna.gooding@zerowastescotland.org.uk by Friday 28th October 2016.