Within the first twelve months of a partnership between Lyreco, Rubbermaid Commercial Products (RCP), and DPD, the logistics business had already boosted its recycling rate by 48% at six key sites.
This significant milestone, which forms part of DPD’s vision of becoming the ‘the greenest delivery service on the planet’, comes as the business analyses environmental gains against a roll-out of RCP’s Slim Jim Recycling Stations across its 84 depot locations.
To date, 20 facilities have benefitted from the introduction of RCP’s effective and space-efficient recycling system, as part of a staged installation process that will continue through 2022.
Every month, at each site in which it is installed, the recycling system diverts 0.5 tonnes away from general waste disposal. On completion of the roll-out across all DPD sites, over 500 tonnes of waste every year will be diverted to the circular economy rather than going to general waste disposal.
Improvement In Recycling Efficiency
The path to these significant improvements in recycling efficiency is thanks to a true Love Recycling Hero, Elissa Underhill, National Account Manager at international distributor Lyreco.
Understanding DPD’s fierce commitment to the issue, Elissa was on the lookout for opportunities to support and partner with her client on its recycling efficiency goals. Identifying where the logistics business may not yet have been reaching its full potential, Elissa worked closely with the experts at RCP, a leading international manufacturer of waste and recycling solutions, to uncover impactful changes for DPD.
Using RCP’s free digital environmental audit tool, the team quickly highlighted the environmental and business savings that could be made.
Best Practice Recycling Procedures
Together, DPD, RCP and Lyreco identified the most troublesome sites in terms of recycling and waste, where lack of consistent compliance with DPD’s best practice recycling procedure was causing an issue. Visits to these sites confirmed that switching to more effective recycling stations would have a big impact.
With a pilot scheme rapidly green-lit, and six tonnes of waste diverted from general waste disposal within the first months of Slim Jim Recycling Stations being introduced to the pilot sites, proof of concept was clear.
"Taking a fresh look at our recycling systems with Lyreco and RCP’s support is just one example of our commitment to reducing DPD’s impact on the environment by continually reviewing our processes," said Olly Craughan, Head of Sustainability for DPD.
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