Mears Facilities Management (Mears FM) and waste and resource management provider, Reconomy, recently came together to look at how the company and wider Group could further reduce company waste on course for its target of Net Zero by 2030.

Mears Group already diverts 96.63% of waste from landfill but aims to push this further by 2025 to achieve net-zero carbon emissions across all our operations by 2030.

Mears FM and Reconomy began by looking at the current processes in place; how the business operated and the current arrangements for waste collection and sorting– with the ultimate aim of further reducing the amount of waste going to landfill.

Mears branch staff already spoke to Reconomy’s representatives on a regular basis and had been taking steps to reduce the number of trucks going in for collection and reducing the carbon footprint.

The next part of the process was to make FM a cleaner business by; implementing better systems for sorting mixed recycling; reducing the tonnage of waste being consumed, and segregating materials at source.

Once the key elements of the process had been established, new containers were introduced in branches to separate the waste alongside staff training on the importance of separating items correctly and how to do it in practise. In addition, Reconomy also explored the reuse process with staff – for example –if a school has a lot of waste timber, could this be reused by someone else?

Neil Baldwin, Account Director Social Housing Division, from Reconomy spoke to the Mears Contract Managers to explain the rationale behind the new process and the benefits to the business, using a Zero Waste Index dashboard to show the reduction on a real time index.  

“Reconomy’s robust and thorough approach ensures compliance and raises awareness to stakeholders in the Mears business of segregation and handling processes.  

We are excited to partner with Mears who have fully embraced our Zero Waste Index Toolin addition to the day-to-day waste services we already provide.  We have a great deal of expertise and experience to share to help drive Mears on towards their goal of achieving Net Zero by 2030.  

As well as providing our expertise, using the Reconomy systems will ensure Mears gets accurate data transfer of key information surrounding their waste and an online tool to track and monitor progress”.

Kevin Woodcock, Managing Director for Mears FM added; “I’m really proud of how the whole Mears FM team have grabbed this challenge and worked in collaboration with Reconomy. In the last few months, we’re now operating at a level where 98%of our waste is no longer going to landfill. The benefit of great data, coaching and team members taking individual ownership has driven this success.”

‍About Reconomy

‍Reconomy began in 1994 as an outsourced waste and resource management provider, helping businesses through a value-added approach that implemented best practice, on-site segregation, and high recycling rates. Since then, they have transformed into a global group offering comprehensive solutions to leading brands across the world that want to adopt circular economy approaches and improve their ESG outcomes.