Earth Day falls on Thursday the 22nd April this year, with three days of events and activities to promote awareness and unite the world to take action on issues like climate change, environmental conservation, plastic waste and pollution. In recognition of Earth Day’s important environmental work over more than 50 years, we are sharing some information about the event, tips for getting your business involved and ideas about how to create a more sustainable future in cooperation with Westminster Commercial Waste Services – waste disposal is a crucial element of sustainable operations, and we are committed to supporting local businesses to play their part.
What is Earth Day 2021?
First organised in 1970, Earth Day is a global event involving more than 190 countries and over a billion individuals annually. Earth Day’s theme for 2021 is Restore Our Earth™, with planned actions including a global youth summit, educational events and Earth Day Live, a digital event that brings together climate leaders, grassroots activists, innovators, artists and other influencers to discuss how the world’s ecosystems can be replenished through processes, technologies and innovations. Many of the events will be streamed live at https://www.earthday.org/earth-day-2021/, which also has a map showing activities organised by Earth Day partners worldwide.
How can businesses in Westminster be more sustainable?
There are many ways that your business can help combat climate change, and an important aspect of this is how you manage your waste. Here are a few tips:
- Reduce your waste by reusing goods where possible. One of the best ways to improve your sustainability, whilst saving money, is to avoid having to dispose of your unwanted items in the first place. Lots of companies will take items for recycling or upcycling. Examples include Freegle, Freecycle, Reuse Network, London Community Resource Network, Neighbourly and Collecteco.
- Recycle items like batteries, coffee cups and hazardous waste responsibly. We provide special services for these items, such as specific coffee cup recycling bins, collection points at libraries and retailers selling batteries as well as a collection service for larger volumes of batteries and special collections for hazardous materials. You can find all our services here.
- Follow waste management best practices, for example recycling everything that can be recycled and reducing plastic use in line with the ban on plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds.
- Train and educate staff and customers. Westminster CityCouncil provides a range of useful educational resources, including posters that you can display to encourage responsible waste disposal practices.
Download posters for your business
- Use Westminster Commercial Waste Services rather than private collectors. Our service is not only cheaper, but you will also be assured that your waste is dealt with responsibly and locally. We avoid duplicated journeys and ensure waste is transported over shorter distances, reducing emissions and traffic congestion. To get started, simply book a free waste audit.
How can we help your business be more sustainable?
Westminster Commercial Waste Services is experienced in managing very large volumes of waste in a sustainable way: no less than 195,000 tonnes of waste every year which is enough to fill the Royal Albert Hall 27 times. Our experience allows us to help businesses become more sustainable through reducing their waste and recycling more of it.
We have not sent waste to landfill for many years, neither do we export it abroad. All waste we collect is sent to local high-performing waste disposal and recycling facilities, where it is turned into raw resources for new products or , when it cannot be recycled, it is used to generate green energy for up to 50,000 London homes. Some of this energy is used to power our fleet of electric refuse collection vehicles, which helps improve air quality by significantly reducing vehicle emissions.
We offer help for businesses on how to approach waste management more sustainably, including:
- A guide to plastic waste with information about the environmental effects and tips on how to reduce the amount of plastic waste produced by your business
Download our sustainability guide
- Our guide to commercial waste recycling, which provides detailed information about how you can reduce your commercial waste, improve your waste management and reduce your spend
- Detailed guidance on climate change, including information on how to adopt better waste management habits
- Our ultimate guide to sustainability tips as well as more information on how being more environmentally sustainable can benefit your business
Earth Day is a reminder of our responsibility to take care of our environment – not just for one day, but every day of the year – and this year’s event is a great time to consider how sustainable your business is.
Take the first step now by considering your waste management and disposal process. Get in touch here to discuss your requirements and start working towards a more sustainable future.
