Project: Implementing new Track-POD technology to streamline processes and enhance the customer experience
Client/Sector: Ward’s Transport team
Location: All Ward sites
Contract Start Date: November 2022
Contract Completion Date: Ongoing

In brief…

As a leading recycling and waste specialist, Ward is committed to delivering customer service excellence while consistently striving to streamline operations, reduce costs and increase productivity across the business.

Ward has always had a weather eye on reducing its environmental footprint and improving its corporate responsibilities. As a firm that sees itself on the front foot, adopting innovative technology is a natural step in improving operations to deliver maximum benefit across the business.

Automation for a better service

Previously, Ward relied on paper tickets for driver jobs, which could cause issues with sending and receiving job changes and lead to increased driver downtime. In addition, customers could not monitor driver progress and all documentation needed to be hand-delivered for each job.

To improve efficiency, Ward trialled a proof of delivery app, Track-POD in November 2022 with a view to implementing across its 120+ vehicle fleet. Using mobile phones and data, the transport planning software allows Ward to send customers live information on driver progress while simultaneously providing all the necessary documentation to accompany the load, including the Waste Transfer note and accurate load weights.

Accessing this information in ‘real-time’ via the portal is particularly important for ISO accredited companies in terms of audit and quality, but it also helps to improve the customer service experience with fewer calls made to head office. For Ward’s own reporting and internal auditing, it’s a game-changer.

Streamlining operations

Beyond the customer experience, adopting this innovative new technology has helped to save costs by reducing paper and fuel consumption, which is also better for Ward’s environmental footprint. Digital automation reduces ticket loss and has resulted in improved accuracy, for example, with load weights and driver mileage.

Productivity has also been boosted by better communication, as drivers can now receive their tickets remotely instead of returning to location. In addition, planners can change and distribute work whenever and wherever needed, eliminating errors and driver downtime. This level of transparency means drivers can plan their deliveries accordingly, while customers can be prepared in advance for site deliveries, making for a better working relationship and a more efficient process.

Delivering a strong return on investment

Jason Siddals, Ward’s first driver to trial the app, said: “I believe the Track-POD app will save us so much time and money. We no longer have to travel to and from the transport office to collect tickets to do our job. I find the app user-friendly and customers love this too.

“I am proud to be working for a forward-thinking company that has implemented an approach that will reduce our environmental impact.”

Neil Wardle, Transport Manager at Ward, added: “Ward is always keen to invest in technology and infrastructure that delivers results. Our recent adoption of Track-POD is a great example of that.

“Speed and accuracy are critical to our operations and the new app is already delivering excellent results to benefit both the team and our customers. In addition to reducing our costs, we’re pleased with the impact the app is having on reducing our carbon footprint, too; it’s showing an excellent return on investment across the business.”

For more information about how Ward can streamline your waste and recycling processes, contact 0345 337 0000 or visit: https://www.ward.com/business-waste/sectors/construction-demolition/.

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Project: Waste management public building construction projects
Client: Arc Partnership
Sector(s): Building, construction, estate management
Services: Skip hire, waste management and recycling services
Location: East Midlands
Contract Start Date: September 2019
Contact Completion Date: Ongoing

In brief…

Arc Partnership is a joint venture between SCAPE and Nottinghamshire County Council that is focused on improving public buildings, including schools and libraries across Nottinghamshire and the East Midlands.

As a local construction specialist, Arc is responsible for managing several sites at any one time. The team was struggling with its previous waste partner and was looking for a supplier to improve its waste management function, save money and increase recycling rates.

Putting the customer first

A key point of frustration for Arc had been a lack of account management with its previous waste partner, which meant recurring day to day issues. Skips were not being delivered when booked and there were frequent delays across multiple sites, impacting on the client’s ability to deliver. There was no administrative or audit trail and very limited account management, which was a recurring disappointment and meant they were not able to provide a duty of care.

Arc approached Ward through the ESPO framework and on recommendation an existing customer and a site meeting was set up to understand the unique requirements for each site. A single point of contact was established within the Ward team, which meant that communication was instantly improved.

A monthly reporting system was put in place so that detailed waste reports, including the number of skips provided, recycling percentages and waste processing methods, could be provided directly to the client.

Understanding unique waste management needs

Ward undertook regular site visits to gain a greater understanding of the needs of each project. As Arc is responsible for several schools, much of Ward’s operational work needed to be undertaken during school holidays once there was no-one on site. There was also a need to ensure that waste facilities were kept neat during school time, taking up minimal space.

To accommodate this, Ward recommended 8-yard and 12-yard lockable skips that kept everything both tidy and safe. Mixed waste skips and metal skips were recommended and supplied in the volume needed for each site; while some sites required a small number of skips, others required as many as 20 to 30 units. Each skip has a unique PO number, which has helped to ensure a seamless service and a detailed level of accountability.

Coming full circle

The waste management contract was due to go out to tender earlier this year but, having seen a marked improvement across all of its sites, Scape Group agreed to switch all of its waste management services to Ward. Thanks to Ward’s excellent level of customer service, Arc has managed to meet waste management expectations, improve its recycling rates and save money.

For more information about how Ward can support you to increase recycling rates and reduce waste on site, contact 0345 337 0000 or visit: https://www.ward.com/business-waste/sectors/construction-demolition/.

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Project: Partnership between local businesses
Supplier: Total Hire and Sales
Sector(s): Building, construction, industrial, maintenance
Services: Tools, plant and equipment hire
Location: East Midlands
Contract Date: Ongoing

In brief…

For well over a decade Ward has worked with Total Hire and Sales for tool, plant and equipment hire to supported various projects throughout the metal recycling and waste management operations.

As two independently run, Derbyshire based businesses, they have developed a long standing partnership based on mutual respect, shared family values and, above all, excellent service.

The right tools for the job

With a fleet of over 120 vehicles, hundreds of skips and containers, plus plant and equipment for metal processing, recycling, sorting and managing waste, Ward has a constant requirement for tool hire and products to keep operations running.

The number one item supplied by Total are telehandlers. These are used at most sites for moving materials, loading machinery, handling and off-loading of vehicles and supporting the ELV (end of life vehicle) recycling operations.

Total also supply Ward sites with consumables ranging from cutting discs, drill bits to wood blades and anything in between, at competitive prices. These can be supplied at short notice preventing downtime and keeping machinery and tools working.

Project partnership

Both businesses pride themselves on the friendly and honest service, with trust and great communication at its core. On the rare occasions Total can’t deliver to Ward’s tight timescales, Total always liaise with the team straight away and manage expectations, which is essential in such a fast-moving business. Total always do their best to deliver at short notice, often with same day delivery.

Total service offering

Total Hire has been able to supply a full range of tool and equipment hire ranging from cherry pickers, powered access equipment, spare diggers and excavators, plus many other pieces of equipment to help with various over the years, often with tight deadlines.

From groundworks, site clearances and supporting Ward’s demolition and construction contracts, Total can provide the right bit of kit to help keep projects on track.

Want to find out more?

For details about Ward’s metal recycling, ship hire and waste management services, contact enquiries@ward.com, call 0345 337 0000 or visit www.ward.com.

For information on Total Hire and Sales’ tool, plant and equipment services, contact enquiries@totalhireandsales.co.uk, call 0800 023 8993 or visit www.totalhireandsales.co.uk.

Client quote/testimonial:

Daniel Haywood, Purchasing Manager at Ward said:

“It’s been great working with Total over the past few years. We have regular meetings to discuss prices, business requirements and future projects and the Total team manage their machinery to ensure they can fit with our growing requirements.  We have a great partnership with Total with similar goals and I know if I call them at late notice they will always go the extra mile to support Ward.”

Carl Tidey, Managing Director, Total Hire and Sales, said:

“As two local, independent family run businesses, our staff and customers share similar values and have the same focus on delivering excellent customer service. We pride ourselves on providing a fair, honest and reliable service. Our team genuinely do whatever it takes to get our customers what they need and Ward is no exception. We’ve built a great partnership over the years which works really well and has lots of mutual benefits for both our business.”

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In 2017, Balfour Beatty, Living Places and its approved waste partner, Reconomy, were discussing a project to replace over 14,000 decommissioned streetlamps in Derby. They were being upgraded to LED lanterns, at an investment cost of £2.8m.

They identified the potential to move this ‘difficult to dispose of’ type of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) waste further up the waste hierarchy, reducing its environmental impact and the energy consumption required for disposal. As a preferred supplier Ward were invited to get involved with the innovative scheme.

Empowering prison programme

Balfour Beatty’s Supply Chain Manager approached Derby’s HM Prison Foston Hall about giving women in custody at the category A prison the opportunity to be trained in how to deconstruct the streetlamps.

This would allow the lamps to be fully recycled, give inmates a wage and provide them with invaluable work experience to help them into employment upon release.

Reconomy managed all logistics directly through Ward, which included collection and transportation of the decommissioned lamps to Foston Hall and oversaw the set-up of the prison’s onsite segregation system to enable 100% recycling.

Perfect partnership

As a preferred supplier, Ward Recycling agreed to pay the labour costs of prisoners working on the project and contributed its expertise to the meticulous planning of transporting the streetlamps in and out of the prison. Fortunately, the partnership was able to rely on our expertise, as Ward held the contract with Foston Hall for general waste disposal, so could give guidance on appropriate containers and was already familiar with the prison’s strict security protocols.

New LED life for streetlamps

The initial project between Balfour Beatty Living Places, Reconomy, Ward Recycling and HM Prison Foston Hall ran until January 2019, replacing 14,293 streetlamps and achieving 100% recycling with no landfill requirements. It also provided social value benefits, helping to rehabilitate pre-release prisoners by giving them new skills, confidence and improved self-esteem.

The project was a finalist in the Construction News – Supplier of the Year awards in 2020 and Foston Hall has subsequently committed to recycling an additional 35,000 streetlamps being replaced with LED lanterns across Sunderland and around Tyneside. The same supply chain partners will work together ensuring the partnership continues.

No wasted opportunities

During the initial 16-month project, 158 waste movements were completed, with 113.43 tonnes of waste being processed. During this time, 100% recycling was achieved with no residual waste being sent to landfill.

Once dismantled, the mixed elements were recycled for various uses, reducing the need for virgin materials across several sectors:

Plastics:

Materials were recycled for the automotive industry and turned into wheelie bins for the clinical/medical industries.

Polycarbonate glass:

Subjected to granulation for use by the automotive and aerospace industries*.

Aluminium and copper:

Repurposed for use within the automotive industry and recycled into domestic copper cable.

Light iron and steel:

Non-ferrous and ferrous metals, general waste.

* For health, safety and security reasons, all glass was segregated at a Balfour Beatty Living Places depot and not taken into the prison.

Through the adoption of an innovative approach to waste disposal, the project is estimated to have saved £50,000 in procurement and waste disposal costs. The newly installed LED lamps have also produced a significant cost saving for Derby City Council, reducing energy consumption by 80% compared with the old-style lamps, producing a saving of £307,000 a year.

“By pioneering new ways of working, the project has brought about tangible waste management cost savings, minimised the environmental impact of a ‘difficult’ waste stream and generated wider community benefits through social value. By providing prisoners with employment opportunities this reduces the likelihood of them reoffending upon release. It has also established a framework that has the potential to be replicated all over the UK.”

Will Hodgson, Business Development Manager, WARD

Delivering social value

Using the Social Value Portal National TOMs framework, the estimated, ongoing social value of the partnership is £34,262 per annum based on the training of circa 50 people per year, with two people placed into waste-related jobs per year. Using the social value output of this project against Balfour Beatty’s £12.4m pipeline of work over the next three years, there is an opportunity to deliver £151,731 of social value nationwide.

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Project: Charity Treecycling Scheme
Client: Treetops Hospice Care
Sector(s): Charity
Material(s): Unwanted Christmas trees
Services: Wood recycling, Skip Hire
Location: East Midlands
Contract Date: Annually December to January
Contract Value: Free of charge, supporting the llocal community

In brief…

In 2017 Treetops Hospice Care launched its first ever ‘Treecycling’ scheme to recycle unwanted Christmas trees and raise funds to provide nursing care and emotional support to adults and their families across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.

Since then the scheme has gone from strength to strength with more businesses and volunteers joining each year to offer transportation, skips, stewarding and general support in collecting trees from people’s homes and places of work in return for a donation to the charity.

Growing support

During 2018 Ward and other local Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire businesses got on board with Treetops to support them with Christmas tree collections. 

Over the years more and more firms have joined in and the list now includes tree surgeons, Maple Tree Care Midlands Ltd and Canopy Tree Services, logistics specialists, The Silver X Group, security firm Repton Security Ltd, Virgin Media, landscapers and gardeners S & F maintenance services and heating specialists, Vaillant UK. Also involved are the Treetops retail warehouse team and their own army of volunteers.

Working with Ward

Always keen to support the local community, Ward has been involved in the scheme almost from the beginning. To start with many businesses and households collected trees and brought them to Ward sites, where free services were offered to process and recycle the trees.

As the scheme grew, Ward provided containers free of charge at several locations, as well as absorbing the transport charges. This helped Treetops, as they could concentrate their efforts on collecting trees and taking them to specific local spots. Skips were either exchanged during the day or collected at the end of the day. By 2019 they were collecting over 10 tonnes of trees during the week.

In 2020, and again in 2021, Ward provided larger 20 yard roll-on/offs in several locations, to expand the areas that could take part in the scheme. These containers were delivered in the morning and collected by end of the day.

The containers were used to contain Christmas trees which were being chipped by Maple Tree on site. Any left over trees were then processed at Ward’s wood recycling facility in Ilkeston. 

The skips and facilities provided by Ward and the volunteer support offered by other businesses enable the teams to offer a collection and recycling service for unwanted Christmas trees in return for a donation to the charity.

“Treecycling has been amazingly successful since it was launched. It has helped raise a record amount of money for the hospice, around £40,000 since it began. 

Without Ward’s skips and the contributions from all our volunteers from local businesses, we wouldn’t have been able to collect so many. We look forward to it every year and it’s just getting bigger and bigger.”

– Laura McWha, Corporate Partnerships Fundraiser Treetops Hospice Care

How to get involved

The intention is to bring Treecycling back each year and Treetops Hospice Care would welcome more businesses to get involved so they can continue to grow the scheme even further for the hospice. Please contact the team fundraising@treetopshospice.org.uk to express an interest.

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Project: Implementing a waste recycling scheme
Client: Garden Centre
Sector(s): Retail and wholesale
Material(s): General waste, glass, food and mixed recycling
Services: Segregated waste solution, wheelie bin collection and skip provision
Location: Nottingham
Contract Start Date: 2010
Contract Completion Date: Ongoing

In brief…

A family-run garden centre in Nottingham has been proudly offering quality plants and products to its customers for over 40 years. With a strong focus on customer service, it has grown to accommodate a wide selection of products and now boasts a family-friendly cafe for customers to eat and meet. 

For over a decade, Ward has been working with the team to meet their growing waste and recycling needs by offering scalable solutions that expand with the needs of the business. 

An environmental challenge

Before bringing Ward onboard, the garden centre had no recycling strategy in place. All waste was collected together with just one rear end loader (REL) for its disposal . The same waste management solution was used throughout the centre, including its popular Café.

A green-fingered approach to recycling

The Garden Centre team brought Ward on board to review their waste strategy and offer solutions that would boost their green credentials and make their operations more sustainable. 

Making their waste disposal process run more smoothly was another key aim for the business.

Ward proposed a full waste segregation strategy, providing separate waste bins that split out general waste, glass, food and mixed recycling. 

Thanks to a dedicated account manager the business was able to make changes to regular collections as needed, particularly at peak times. As a small business the personal approach was important to them and having a single point of contact made waste management and recycling much easier. 

In the Café, segregated bins were provided that made it easy for staff to see how and where to dispose of recyclable waste, including food and general waste, both in the kitchen and restaurant. 

Throughout the implementation of the new recycling scheme, Ward was on hand to offer help and advice to the garden centre team and troubleshoot any issues as they arose to maximise the scheme’s success. 

From grass-roots to green success 

Ward has helped to take the garden centre’s green credentials from zero to hero. The full waste segregation process that has been put in place makes it easier for the business to recycle various types of waste in a timely and efficient way.

Ward continues to support and advise the business on its waste and recycling solutions as it continues to expand.

Client quote/testimonial:

“As a family-run garden centre, working with another local independent family business has always worked well. Ward really understands our needs and we’ve always enjoyed great customer service and communication.” 

– Garden Centre Manager

WARD quote:

“It’s been really rewarding working with the team. We understand the unique needs of a family business and being able to plan and implement a recycling strategy that works for them has been great. We look forward to supporting them with all of their waste needs as the business continues to grow.”

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Project: Waste management for new housing developments
Client: Nationwide Housebuilder
Sector(s): Building, construction, property development
Services: Container and collection services, skips, roll-on/offs, tippers, grab hire, hazardous waste, bespoke waste reporting
Location: Nationwide
Contract Start Date: 2014
Contract Completion Date: Ongoing

In brief…

One of our national housebuilder customers has up to 20 live housing developments at any one time. During the lifetime of a project, which can span one to 10 years, any waste being generated can be costly and difficult to manage across multiple sites. To achieve the customer’s aim of increasing recycling rates, streamlining services and reducing site costs, they required a single supplier that could implement waste management best practice across their portfolio.

Managing multiple providers

Dealing with several waste brokers or skip companies directly at each of their sites was leading to inconsistency with pricing, confusion around invoicing, varying customer service levels, multiple points of contact and an inability to provide accurate waste reporting. As a business, it was difficult to report on waste reduction and recycling measures at an individual site level, so site managers weren’t able to demonstrate performance against KPIs or demonstrate environmental improvements.

‘One-stop-shop’ waste management

Ward began working with the housebuilder in 2014 to implement a ‘one-stop-shop’ waste management service. After a site visit from a dedicated account manager, each development now receives a bespoke waste management plan designed to costeffectively manage waste and improve recycling rates. Every waste strategy includes guidance on how to create a dedicated waste compound on-site, waste segregation signs and bespoke posters to educate people on site. A single point of contact is provided for all sites, ensuring consistency of pricing and excellent levels of customer service. It has also consolidated invoicing so each site has a clear breakdown of costs, billed regularly each month.

Championing waste segregation

Every possible site now implements a waste segregation system. A waste compound is set up and managed by an appointed Waste Champion who arranges appropriate containers such as skips or roll-on/offs. During the construction of each phase, container requirements change to suit the waste streams being produced, Waste Champions are responsible for ensuring each one is used to its full capacity.

Across all new build developments the average recycling figure is now consistently over 98%.

Skips are inspected before every collection to reduce air pockets and prevent cross-contamination. If not, waste disposal costs can increase due to contamination or non-compliance. If all skips are managed efficiently by the Waste Champions, this system delivers a sustainable, cost effective and environmentally-friendly solution.

Recover, reuse and recycle

Common waste streams are segregated within a compound. These are mainly wood, plasterboard, hardcore and mixed general waste. There are also options for metal, cardboard or packaging if required. Effective waste segregation, particularly with wood and metal, can reduce costs in a like-for-like container by over 24 per cent. Metals even offer a rebate, providing an income stream to counter overall waste costs.

Reporting results

Reducing waste and increasing recycling were key objectives, so we worked with Development Directors to deliver bespoke, site-level waste management reporting. These now provide a single, consistent format for capturing detailed information about recovered waste streams, recycling rates and waste costs in order to analyse waste management performance to inform best practice. The team has also introduced a reward system for the best performing development each month.

Delivering results

By working with Ward to apply best practice waste strategy principles, the customer has:

• Reduced costs by up to 24 per cent for like-for-like containers;
• Reduced administration and improved invoicing;
• Introduced bespoke site waste management reporting in a consistent format;
• Rolled out a reward scheme to incentivise best practice;
• Benefited from a dedicated account manager and single point of contact for all sites;
• Increased sustainability at site level and company-wide.

“Our partnership with Ward has helped us to improve best practice and increase recycling rates by implementing consistent on-site waste management at each of our developments. A dedicated point of contact at Ward means we can get quick responses and access help, support and guidance from a business that really understands our sector and our changing needs over the lifetime of a development project.”

Nationwide Housebuilder, Development Director

Next steps…

Ward continues to provide sustainable waste solutions across the country, helping the customer to reach their objective of reducing waste cost and improving environmental performance year-on-year.

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Project:  Removal of metal conveyor system at packaging and distribution depot
Client: Armac Group
Sector(s): Logistics
Material(s): Ferrous and non-ferrous metals
Services: Combined demolition, asset removal and material transportation for processing
Location: Nuneaton, UK
Contract Date: April 2020

In brief…

Due to a huge increase in demand for online shopping and parcel delivery which has increased at a greater rate due to the coronavirus pandemic, a nationwide parcel distribution company needed to upgrade its distribution depot. Armac Group worked closely with Ward to complete the demolition, removal and recycling of the conveyor system to make way for new equipment. 

A partnership package

The parcel depot was capable of processing 20,000 parcels per day with its existing conveyor system. Following the outbreak of COVID-19 the business needed to rapidly scale up its production and logistics operations to meet the increased demand from online shopping orders. Following a recommendation from UK leading car manufacturer, Armac Group was appointed to carry out the demolition and removal of the old conveyor system.

As a fellow family business that has a long history of working with Ward, Armac partnered with Ward to remove and recycle the bulk materials.

Express delivery

The client required to project to be fully completed with a very tight deadline. This involved carefully removing the old 350 tonne steel conveyor system which would normally take several weeks to dismantle. In this case the timescale was condensed to seven days. Armac and Ward teams worked in partnership throughout the Bank Holiday weekend and following days to ensure the project was completed on time.

Steely determination 24/7

The teams worked round the clock with three specialist excavators in constant use throughout the week and using number of Ward roll on/off containers. Armac Group worked day and night dismantling, cutting and demolishing the steel conveyor belt. Ward’s specialist drivers exchanged full containers using their wagon and drag service ensuring that there was always an empty container ready for reload.

Socially distanced success 

Throughout the project the depot remained up and running and continuing to process packages, while moving around the site to implement social distancing and following health and safety guidelines.

Armac demolished 350 tonnes of steel and Ward collected over 50 loads for recycling. The project cleared the way to enable installation of an upgraded conveyor system, increasing capacity from 20,000 to 160,000 parcels per day.

Client quote/testimonial:

“It was a fast turnaround demolition and removal project, but we rose to the challenge and it went really well. The client was pleased and its always great working with Ward. It’s easy to get in touch, get things like transport and logistics sorted and have a reliable partner on a job like this.” 

– Adrian McLean, Operations Director at Armac Group

“This was another great project to work on with Armac Group. Interesting, challenging and a real team effort to demolish, remove and recycle over 350 tonnes of steel and other metal arisings in just one week, during a global pandemic. Now that’s impressive.”

– David Ward Jnr, Commercial Director, Ward

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Project: First ship of the year to export metal from Ward’s Immingham dock
Client: Habas
Sector(s): Reinforcing bar production
Material(s): Ferrous scrap metal
Location:  UK – Chesterfield & Immingham
Date: February 2019

In brief

#TeamWARD had to pull out all the stops to hit the deadline for its first shipment of scrap metal to Turkey in 2019 or face a £15,000 cost for every day of delay. With 20,000 tonnes of metal to recover, process and load onto the 200 metre-long vessel, it was a race against time for brothers Thomas and Donald Ward and their teams.

Increasing exports

In April 2018 Ward opened its fifth site, a dock at ABP Ports in Immingham. The £1million+ investment was a key milestone for the fourth generation, independent family business in expanding its metal processing capabilities and increasing its export potential.

The 2.5 acre port facility near Grimsby, with the capacity to hold up to 30,000 tonnes of material at a time on stock, enables the deep sea shipping of metal cargo to new destinations, particularly Turkey – the main importer of scrap metal in the world.

Meeting the challenge

Having worked hard to find buyers, including foundries and rebar producers, they were on countdown to load the first ship with 20,000 tonnes of Heavy Melting Steel (HMS) 1 and 2, grade 80:20 destined for Habas in Nemrut Bay, Turkey. With just one week until the scheduled date of departure, the Ward teams in both Immingham and its sister site in Chesterfield, worked around the clock to prepare scrap metal for loading.

Sustainable success

After a week’s hard graft, at the end of the shift, the team had successfully met the 20,000 tonne target to send the ship to Turkey on time. A huge win for Ward and a sustainable success story for a pile of scrap. Within two weeks of arriving in Turkey, 4,000 nautical miles away, it would be melted in a furnace to make new products. The recycled metal will be then be shipped around the world giving it new life.

“Many of the pieces of metal were probably produced in steelworks here in the UK many years ago and then used in building for 100 years and now they’ll leave and find a new home abroad. This first ship of 2019 heading for Turkey was another major milestone for Ward and our metals business. The team’s done really well, really pushed it.”

– Thomas Ward, Commercial Director

Download the full case study here. Or watch for yourself as it featured on Sky show “Scrap Kings – The Seven Million Dollar Man” in 2019. You can watch the full episode at cutt.ly/scrap-kings

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• Project: Business waste collections 
• Client: Works Social
• Sector(s): Private business, start up, co-working, shared office, event venue and bar
• Material(s): Dry mixed waste, paper, confidential waste, glass, cans, food waste 
• Services: Supply of wheelie bins and regular waste, recycling and glass collections
• Location: Nottingham City Centre
• Contract Start Date: April 2019
• Contract Completion Date: Ongoing

In brief…

Co-working and event space start-up, Works Social, needed a flexible and scalable waste management and recycling solution which could grow as its business did. Ward offered advice and support to help the Works Social team increase recycling rates, improve sustainability and achieve value for money from collections. 

The Future of Work 

Works Social is a membership co-working space and event venue in Nottingham. It has 40 desks rentable by freelancers and small businesses, plus a number of benches for hot-desking and has a busy event schedule with a bar.

Following a complete renovation of the four-story, Grade II listed former Lace Works, Works Social opened for business in April 2019. The entrepreneurial team behind the new venture needed advice and guidance on how to manage waste and maximise their recycling, as more members joined the community. 

Collections Conundrum

The business had two 240L Council wheelie bins, one for recycling and one for general waste, which were collected on an alternating weekly basis. This meant they could go for two weeks without having the general waste bin emptied. 

The start-up business quickly needed more regular collections as the number of members increased and they needed a regular glass collection to cater for the increasingly busy bar and event space. 

Also, as the bins were generic council bins, other businesses were using them for their waste and over-filling them in between collections, so Works Social was struggling for space.  

Sustainably Scaling Up

Keen to be as sustainable as possible in all areas of their business, Works Social sought a provider that could deliver reliable recycling services with a guaranteed duty of care. They wanted to work with a waste management partner who could be flexible and enable them to scale up and down collections as required. 

Ramping up recycling

Following an assessment of their needs, through a free waste audit, Ward has provided Works Social with three 340L wheelie bins – one dedicated recycling bin for dry mixed waste such as paper, cans, cardboard and another general waste bin which are collected weekly. A glass recycling bin is also collected once per month, but can also be increased as and when events take place. 

Where’s your wheelie bin?

Ward has also been able to accommodate a tricky location. The office is situated in the heart of Nottingham’s Lace Market and the bin store is in a locked courtyard, which we can only be accessed after 8am on week days. Ward has been able to work its city centre collection schedule around to make sure that Works Social is the last one on the round.

Lise Garner-Morgan, cofounder and Operations Director at Works Social said:

“We started off with only a few people in the building and now we are almost full, so being able to scale up and down services as we need them is a real bonus for us as a growing business. Ward has worked with us to really listen to our needs and given us support and advice about what is right for our business. They’ve made recommendations based on the number of people, types of waste we are likely to produce and the activities that take place here such as events. All of the advice has been spot on. 

“It is easy to add ad hoc extra collections by contacting our dedicated account manager Leanne and requesting an additional services. When we’ve got several events on or have excess packaging from buying furniture and supplies for the building it’s good to know we can get the waste removed and recycled easily, as we don’t have much storage space.”

“As a start up we are also price conscious, but Ward has been very competitive and offered very reasonable rates – particularly as we are still paying for our council bins through Council tax!”

Next steps…

As the business has grown and the event space is becoming more established, Works Social is upgrading its bins to larger, lockable 660L ones. They also expect to increase their recycling rates, having worked with Ward to educate its members on what can be recycled, to reduce the overall amount of waste destined for landfill. 

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