LPR is in the running to represent the UK at the European Business Awards for the Environment in Brussels next year.

They have just been presented with their trophy in the Green Apple Environment Awards – one of the major international environmental awards schemes, and a feeder into the European Awards.

They were presented with their Green Apple Award at the Tower of London on June 14th, where top winners had the chance to mingle and learn from each others success.

The presentations were made by star of screen and stage, Carol Royle, who was in top form and delighted the assembly with a beautifully delivered speech about her thoughts regarding the environment.

LPR are also invited to join the National Green Heroes, an elite group of environmental achievers who use their experience to help thousands of others – and the environment - around the world.

If they are overall winners in the Green Apple Awards (this will be announced in November at another presentation at the House of Commons) they will also be given a free spa holiday for two in Aquacity, Slovakia – the world’s most environmentally-friendly resort.

The Green Apple Awards are now in their sixteenth year and attracted more than 500 nominations this year.

They are organised by The Green Organisation, an independent, non-political, non-activist, non-profit environment group dedicated to recognising, rewarding and promoting environmental best practice around the world.

10/04/2010

Project Aim

The project aim is to reduce the amount of waste going from the centre to landfill, while reducing the cost to the retailer’s service charge. Land Securities take environmental issues very seriously. I was appointed as the Operations Manager and tasked with increasing recycling on site from 37% to 60%. Due to the economical down turn the centre then had to cut the service charge to retailers by 13% but still had to deliver the same high level of service. My intention was to segregate all waste streams and raise the knowledge in the work force. We went about this by informing the cleaning operatives that we would give a percentage raised through credit for cardboard as a bonus. The more they collected the more they would earn. We have just started to send waste metal and pallets to the scrap merchants and the money raised goes to a local children’s hospice which provides assistance to the local community.

Project Achievements

We changed our waste service to Leeds Paper Recycling from Blackburn’s of Dewsbury and have now gone from 37% to 100% recycling. LPR is within 3 miles of the centre and employs local people within the community. This has also reduced our transportation costs. We are now recycling more metal and wood in pallet form. I have saved a large amount of money in the latter stages of last year’s financial budget and I believe that I could save even more in the next financial year. With the money saved I have managed to buy a new Tug & Trailer to make it easier for the work force. I have also managed to have all the wheelie bins repaired. With the changes the centre will not see yearly rises in landfill tax. I have also managed to secure 100% more money for my recycled cardboard. On the 12.06.2009 the centre put in rain water harvesting. Up to the 11.04.2010 the centre collected 525,000 litres of water. This helped with 87,500 free toilet flushes. We have a green zone which shows our customers what the centre has achieved with regards to recycling. We had a company called coolaphone up to last week collecting and recycling old mobile phones. I stopped retailers using tray liners because of the amount of waste paper from them. The trays were already cleaned by our tray wash and I could not see any reason other than advertising for these. Some retailers saved over £7000 a year, not to mention the saved money on landfill at the time.

Written Submission

The project involved putting the waste management contract out to tender to all our local waste management companies. We showed all our waste figures from previous months and years and how we operated at the time of the centre going out to tender. It was suggested by our new service provider Leeds Paper Recycling that we could segregate waste streams better than we were doing. It was also said that cleaning operatives needed to monitor waste streams better and get retailers involved in the new operation. We also looked at other centres within our portfolio on the way in which waste streams were managed by them. It was decided that we would go to co-mingle waste which included paper, card, magazines and tins, and plastics. This was due to the way in which LPR operated. We would also have card only bins. The foodwaste operation would stay the same. However the way in which it would finally be disposed of would change. It would no longer be going to landfill. We have segregated metal and pallets and glass.

We chose our current waste management company Leeds Paper Recycling due to the cost saving and the way in which they have assisted in our operation. Leeds Paper Recycling said that we could achieve 100% recycling and 0% landfill and reduce costs for our retailers on the service charge. They would supply free 660 litre bins for the only one foodwaste compactor. The economic down turn put great pressure on us as a company to lower costs for the retailers and still provide the same service level. By changing companies we also cut the carbon footprint due to the new company been nearer to the centre than the old one.

The centre budgeted on the previous year’s figures for the site waste management and due to changing the contract five months before the company year end; financially a large saving was made. The waste figures have been quite stable since we took on Leeds Paper Recycling. The centre is getting more for the cardboard and another rise is due next month. It has helped the environment because we no longer send anything from site to landfill.

The retailers would benefit from changing companies and the way in which we operate. The cleaning operatives have also just had a new piece of equipment ordered to assist in the moving of 1100 litre bins around the site. This was also purchased through the saving from last year.

Long term benefits are that we will have reduced costs for retailers and higher than predicted recycling levels. Customers and retailers will know how seriously Land Securities take environmental issues.

We are still looking at making things better. One of our plans is to reuse coat hangers. Customers will be able to take coat hangers from newly fabricated stand at the entrances to the centre. We believe reuse is better than recycling.

We believe that anyone could be in the same position as the White Rose now. I was put in the Operation Managers position and asked to improve the recycling figures from 37% to 60% in my first year. However speaking with companies made me more aware of what was needed and just what we could achieve. I think a lot of companies do not like change and are very weary of making change in case of failure. I am aware that what we have achieved is excellent and goes a long way to helping the environment.

We as a company are carefully monitored by our head office to make sure that we are compliant with regards to environmental issues. The centre has never experienced an enforcement notice and we are audited by head office every year.

John White - Land Securities

2009 was marred by the major fire which hit the Pudsey site on the 19th July. This was a set-back, coming at a time of growth for LPR. At its peak the fire was attended by over 20 firefighters.

The building was 40% destroyed. Our baling plant was destroyed completely. One of our processing lines was badly damaged. Four of our collection trucks were damaged one completely.

LPR is very much a close team of hard working people. Drivers and admin staff were at the scene within hours doing all they could to help. Trucks were taken off site and kept at various sites (thanks to Volvo Crossroads Truck & Bus in Birstall and Bower Green transport of Bradford).

In light of all this our collections were back the very next morning with very little disruption to our clients whatsoever.

Rather than sit around moping we worked hard to find a suitable building to install new lines and process our waste.

This was done within 10 weeks and we opened our new Materials Recycling Facility within 12 weeks.

We now operate 24 hours a day seven days per week. We employ 93 local people and our fleet of 12 trucks collect waste from our clients night and day seven days per week.

Our facility has reached 100% recycling with no waste sent to landfill. We recycle all plastics, cans, tins, paper, cardboard, metals, wood, glass, textiles, brick and rubble. Food, green and organic waste goes for composting with any residue send for biomass energy recovery.

ISO 9001 Quality System and ISO14001 Environmental Systems have made us even stronger.

A purchase of brand new trucks has helped make Leeds Recycling one of the brightest, clean and modern waste recycling companies in Yorkshire arguably the best in the business.

Let me take this opportunity to say a big thank you to all our team here at LPR. Also to our clients old and new who have shown your overwhelming support to us over the past 12 months.

And to the arsonist scum who tried to end our company…. THANK YOU (we are now stronger than ever)!!