With nearly 10,000 air pollution-related deaths in London every single year, it is clear more needs to be done to increase the quality of life. Even with the successful launch of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in April 2019, it could take up to six years before the nitrogen dioxide reaches legal levels, which still exposes people living in London to toxic air.
After working in partnership with Anglo Office Group for over a year, together we continue to strive toward the shared goal of improving traffic congestion and air quality and reducing emissions in Westminster.
The mission behind Anglo
Offering environmentally friendly and sustainable services to their clients, Anglo provides the largest range of products in the UK with 40 different categories, from catering and office stationery to furniture and waste management.
According to Russell Hodson, CSR & Business Services Director for Anglo Office Group, Anglo has been able to map the carbon footprint of the deliveries coming in and out of different office buildings.
“It’s staggering to see five different milk companies, seven fruit companies and six office supply companies all going into these buildings, sometimes on a daily basis.”
Hodson stresses the importance of addressing the problem of air pollution in Westminster. By consolidating procurement, Anglo delivers up to 200,000 products to a range of businesses which can all be ordered through a single portal and delivered via electric vehicles.
Electrifying deliveries and waste management: working together to reduce emissions
Equipped with two fully electric vehicles charged with renewable energy, Anglo hopes to convert the remainder of their diesel fleet in 2020 to further reduce environmental impacts and provide zero-emission services to their customers.
As such, Westminster City Council operates the largest waste management fleet in London, working hard to ensure we are leaders in our industry when striving to find innovative ways to reduce traffic emissions and air pollution. We also provide zero-emission services thanks to our newly converted electric refuse collection vehicles (eRCV). Previously diesel-fuelled, these electric vehicles are now an upcycled viable and sustainable solution for improving air quality.
Anglo customers can order Westminster City Council Commercial Waste Services waste and recycling bags directly through Anglo, as well as arrange for coffee cup collections. The City Council will then collect these bags once put out for collection. Known as the Fab3 deal, Westminster City Council and Anglo have created a promotion for customers. They will receive a 10% discount when they order 25 cardboard tape stickers with their rolls of 50 general waste and 50 recycling bags, making all three £110.00 including collections.
Read more: How to put rubbish bags out correctly in Westminster
As part of the Heart of London Business Alliance clean air initiative, and thanks to our combined efforts of improving air quality in Westminster, Westminster City Council and Anglo are both recognised as the preferred waste management and office product suppliers in Westminster.
Since Westminster City Council is a Waste Collection Authority (WCA), we are the legal default collection service in Westminster. This means we undertake multiple collections every day to remove all waste types from homes and business. These collections occur regardless of other waste collectors in the area. By choosing us as your designated waste management provider, you can reduce up to 80% of duplicated journeys made by other private waste collectors.
By working together to decrease vehicle movements and provide zero-emission services, we can greatly reduce noise, vehicle movements and exhaust emissions. This then contributes greatly to helping reach the goal of making Westminster a carbon-neutral city by 2040.
Implementing closed-loop solutions
According to Hodson, most Anglo clients look for closed-loop solutions when they order products and services, “we are here to enable sustainability. It’s important to turn waste back into something meaningful.” For instance, they offer a range of notebooks which are made from their customers’ confidential waste (e.g. shredded paper) and the covers are made from either coffee cups, water bottles or thick cardboard.
Similar to Anglo, at Westminster City Council we collect materials that are properly segregated so they can be recycled effectively into new resources and products. We also use closed-loop waste and recycling solutions, for example, around powering our eRCVs. By using the general waste we collect as fuel, we are able to generate the electricity which powers these trucks. The waste that is discarded by Westminster’s residents and businesses is turned into low-carbon energy for the very trucks that collect it.
“Air pollution is invisible, and so no one realises how hazardous it is. There’s no magic wand to fix everything. We all need to look at what we’re doing and get everyone on board with lowering our impact on the environment.” – Russell Hodson
Download our congestion and air quality leaflet to find out how Westminster City Council Commercial Waste Services helps to minimise congestion and poor air quality in Westminster.
