The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) consulted on the planned Simpler Recycling in 2023 publishing the consultation finding earlier this year, stating that “reform to the recycling system which means that people across England will be able to recycle the same materials, whether at home, work or school, putting an end to the confusion over what can and cannot be recycled in different parts of the country.”

The survey sought views on the upcoming legislation, general levels of understanding and what plans were in place to prepare for the new rules, which aim to simplify and standardise recycling across businesses and households in England.

Encouragingly, 71% of respondents knew about the Simpler Recycling legislation, 90% felt they had good knowledge of what was required and 60% felt that they knew what they needed to do to prepare. However, 62% of respondents had yet made no provision at all for the new legislation.

Donald Ward, Operations Director at Ward, said: “In its latest update, the government stated that the new default requirement for most households and workplaces will be four containers for residual (non-recyclable) waste, food waste (mixed with garden waste if appropriate), paper and card, plus all other dry recyclable materials (plastic, metal and glass). These may be various container types, including bags, bins or stackable boxes.”

“As much as there is positive intention to simplify waste streams, improve recycling effectiveness and reduce waste to landfill, there are some practical considerations to businesses to adopting these measures. The top concern from the survey was cost, with 60% of respondents naming this as a main barrier. A further 39% said space constraints and 31% cited lack of time as other main factors that prevent them from segregating and recycling waste.”

“There are many ways businesses can address these issues, for example, a free and simple waste audit can quickly assess the volume and type of waste. From there, you work out a plan of the required container sizes and optimise collections to achieve the best value for money.  For larger businesses, using a provider which offers site visits to set up effective recycling areas and gives customers access to an online portal is a good way to monitor and evaluate different waste streams. From that management data, businesses are then able to make more informed decisions about recycling rates and ways to make improvements and adjustments to waste collections.”

Respondents also shared that some types of waste were more problematic than others to recycle. Hazardous was considered most difficult by 32%, closely followed by construction waste at 28%, Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) at 27% and food waste at 26%.

Head of Sales (Waste) at Ward, Heather Foo, added: “Depending on their size and type of activities, some businesses will be more affected than others with Simpler Recycling. A multi-premises business employing more than 10 full-time equivalent employees will be required to segregate residual waste, food waste, paper and card, and all other dry mixed recycling in four specific containers and arrange the appropriate collection services by 31st March 2025. Microbusinesses (those with less than 10 FTE employees) are currently exempt from these requirements until 31st March 2027, but as a wider sustainability measure it would be beneficial to implement in advance of legalisation.

“New guidance was issued by DEFRA in late November 2024, so now is a good time to start planning for Q1 2025 to get a solution for Simpler Recycling in place in time for the March 2025 deadline.”

A copy of Ward’s Simpler Recycling Report findings can be found here: https://www.ward.com/simpler-recycling/.

For more information about Ward’s innovative waste management solutions, visit www.ward.com.

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Sharewear offers a free scheme to provide people in economic difficulty with their basic clothing needs, from winter coats, school uniforms and undergarments to shoes, bedding and household textiles. Operating a referral system for individuals and also an outreach service for organisations, the charity has supported around 115,000 people since its launch in 2014.

Ward has committed to placing four textile banks around the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire area to allow Sharewear to collect donations, supporting them in their mission to reduce clothing poverty. These banks will be operated by Sharewear, meaning that one hundred per cent of the textiles collected will be reused through the Sharewear Clothing Scheme. The latest bank, at St Paul’s Church in West Bridgford, joins St Jude’s Church, Woodborough Road, Mapperley, as a destination where members of the public can drop off their clean and dry, pre-loved donations.

WARDRobe has partnered with the charity for several initiatives over the years to raise awareness of and tackle clothing poverty. In 2022, the organisations teamed up to provide a clothing bank at Manchester University where students, staff and the general public could drop off pre-loved clothing that could benefit others in the local community. Together, they have also launched a pilot clothing take-back scheme with national retailer House of Fraser. Ward also works with local councils to ensure pre-loved clothes donated via textile banks are given a new home with those who need them most.

In addition to putting back into the local community, Ward’s partnership with Sharewear supports the firm’s commitment to reducing waste to landfill by encouraging the reuse of clothing that would otherwise have been recycled or discarded.

Founder, CEO and Head of Operations, Louise Cooke: “Clothing poverty is not a matter of having clothes that you want to wear but more about having the basic clothes a person needs to either keep warm, go to work, or attend an interview.

“Our ongoing partnership with Ward allows us to offer people a vital identify and the confidence to live life to the best of their abilities. We know that Ward’s values align perfectly with our own, and we are forever grateful for their support in our mission to make a difference.”

Clare Harby, Head of Textiles and Waste Brokerage at Ward: “Ward is always looking to put back into our community and to make the biggest difference where it is needed most, and our partnership with Sharewear is an excellent example of this.

“There is a huge divide between the ‘fast fashion – throw away’ culture and the growing clothing poverty crisis faced by thousands of people across both our local region and nationally. Hopefully, our ongoing partnership will narrow that gap by reducing the environmental damage caused through waste to landfill while providing quality clothing to those most in need across our local communities.”

Ward has recently updated its website with a new textile bank locator to show those wishing to donate pre-loved clothes the location of their nearest facility. The new locator allows visitors to search for their closest bank by inputting their postcode, town or city into a search box or using the handy WARDRobe map.

For more information visit: www.ward.com/waste/commercial/services/textile-recycling/

For more information on Sharewear, visit https://sharewearclothingscheme.org/

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Sharewear has community franchises across the country and aims to tackle clothing poverty by providing emergency clothing, shoes and bedding to people experiencing personal difficulties or facing poverty. Ward has supported the charity for several years by providing textile banks for clothing donations and helping to promote various nationwide campaigns.

To celebrate Sharewear’s birthday milestone, Ward sponsored a table where members of team Ward had the chance to meet many of the charity’s incredible volunteers who have worked so tirelessly over the years.

Clare Harby, Head of Textiles and Waste Brokerage at Ward, said: “We were delighted to join Sharewear to celebrate their journey over the past 10 years where they have supported 1000s of people to prevent clothing poverty in the region.

It was heart-warming to see their fantastic volunteers honoured, who each donate their time to giving new homes for clothing to those most in need. Sharewear has a strong ethos in driving recycling of unwanted clothes that may otherwise find their way to landfill – we are proud to work closely with such an amazing charity.”

For more information on Sharewear, visit www.sharewearclothingscheme.org

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The popular scheme invites the community to register their preloved Christmas trees for collection in return for a charity donation to support the hospice’s vital work.

During the campaign, Ward processed around 1,100 preloved trees, including 6.28 tonnes collected with their roll-on/offs and an extra 1 tonne brought in by volunteers.

Ward covered the cost of transport and processing at their Ilkeston site, saving over £1,750 for the charity and helping to maximise the benefit of the donations, which totalled an incredible £18,000.

The Christmas trees’ final destination is a biomass facility which uses renewable fuels for energy production.

Kevin Deller, National Construction Waste Manager at Ward, said: “It was great to be involved in the Treecycling campaign again this year, supporting with transport and tree processing at our state-of-the art facility in Ilkeston.

“In addition to raising vital funds for this important charity, it is nice to know that we have played our part in helping the public ensure their preloved Christmas trees are contributing to a more sustainable future.”

Victoria Rocca, Relationships Manager- Key Events at Treetops Hospice, said: “We are so grateful for the support received from all our volunteers and local business, including Ward. We couldn’t do this without them and we had a record number of registrations this year, so had to close the scheme earlier than expected.

“Their generous contribution to the campaign meant we could raise a fantastic amount for the hospice while supporting the public in recycling their unwanted Christmas trees after the festivities.”

For more information on Treetops Hospice, visit: www.treetopshospice.org.uk.

To learn more about Ward’s national waste and recycling services, call 0345 337 0000.

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The award-winning build team created a bespoke children’s counselling and therapy centre for Treetops Hospice with Ward donating skips and wheelie bins to help with waste management.

Every year, the hospice provides over 900 counselling sessions for local children, some as young as 7 years old, who are struggling after the death of a loved one. Currently, all Treetops young people have to access their counselling or support groups in a space originally set up with only adults in mind, with no dedicated child-friendly communal areas or even toilets.

The new Centre will be entirely focused on the children they help, providing a welcome and safe space where they can receive the vital care, support and counselling they need during some of the worst moments of their lives.

The team carried out the work from 11^th to 21^st September and Ward supported by donating wheelie bins and skips to handle the waste management. This included daily servicing, emptying and collection, free of charge.

Treetops Hospice celebrates its 40^th anniversary this year, and BBC Children in Need has supported its children’s services for over 10 years. Over this time, their funding has helped hundreds of bereaved children and families with counselling and emotional support while providing crucial training for staff members.

As a local charity, Ward has been a firm supporter of the hospice over the years, with fundraising initiatives including the annual Christmas ‘Treecycling’ scheme, which is already in planning for this year.

Donald Ward, Operations Director at Ward, said: “When we heard that DIY SOS was coming to Derbyshire, we were more than happy to step in and support them with their waste management needs. We know that getting site waste management right is essential on a construction project as ambitious as this, in a very short timeframe. Having local expertise on hand is invaluable.

“We take great pride in supporting local charities and Treetops has always been extremely close to our hearts. We are looking forward to seeing the completed build unveiled and are pleased that we can play our part in making such an important difference to the lives of young people in the local community.”

The project ‘Big Reveal’, hosted by DIY SOS’s Nick Knowles which will air on BBC One, Thursday 16th November at 9pm, during BBC’s Children in Need coverage.

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More than 300 business owners, leaders and advisers joined the sell-out event at Nottingham’s Crowne Plaza, for an evening recognising the achievements of regional businesses spanning all sizes and sectors.

As well as scooping the top prize for ‘Sustainability’, presented by category sponsor property specialist Spenbeck, the Ward team was also a finalist in ‘International Trade’.

The judges were impressed with Ward’s sustainability strategy and the investment it has made into innovative technologies to extend its recycling capabilities nationwide. They also acknowledged the work Ward has done in embedding sustainability into its core business culture through the implementation of the Ward Way, its Sustainability Road map to 2030.

Sam Metcalf, Midlands editor at TheBusinessDesk.com said: “This year’s shortlisted and winning companies were part of a record-breaking effort at this year’s Business Masters Awards. This year we had a record number of nominations for the Masters and a record number of shortlisted companies.

“One thing the judges remarked was the sheer strength in depth of the entries and I think this is the reason why the East Midlands continues to be one of the most economically dynamic regions outside of the south-east and the businesses and this year’s finalists play a huge part in making it that way.”

On the award win, Joanne Upton, Environment and Sustainability Manager at Ward said: “This is huge boost to the team. We’ve worked hard to embed our commitment to sustainability into the heart of our business. By 2030, Ward has pledged to eliminate its contribution to climate change with an interim science-based target to reduce emissions by 47% and we are doing this by focusing on four key interconnected areas including; Environment, Energy and Carbon, Social Value and Economy. We’re thrilled that this has been recognised by the Business Masters judges.”

On a social value and economic sustainability theme, Ward also sponsored the Community Impact award which was presented by Ward’s Business Development Director, Toby Potter, to Leicester based financial advisors, Furnley House, for its foundation supporting to help improve the lives of as many people as they can.

For a full list of winners and finalists, visit: https://www.thebusinessdesk.com/eastmidlands/news/2077664-winners-revealed-at-east-midlands-business-masters-2023

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With the UK generating over 222 million tonnes of waste each year, recycling and waste management are booming sectors.[1] They also export to a growing international market, helping this country manage its waste more sustainably while at the same time supporting jobs, boosting trade and helping to grow the economy. This is something which Ward, one of the UK’s largest independently owned recycling firms, can attest to.

The fourth-generation family business achieved record turnover and international sales in 2023 at £312m, thanks in part to backing from UK Export Finance (UKEF), the government department responsible for issuing loans, guarantees and insurance. This service is available to ensure that no viable export fails for want of finance.

Ward specialises in metal recycling and waste management, helping a range of sectors reduce their impact on the environment by collecting their materials and recycling as much as possible. It serves a growing export market for recycled scrap metal, shipping reclaimed material to a global client base.

In 2022, HSBC UK agreed to provide export funding with backing from UKEF to help Ward expand and meet significant demand for recycled metal from clients in India, Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt. HSBC UK secured a loan guarantee from UKEF for an extra £9 million in financing, with the guarantee issued under UKEF’s General Export Facility product; this allowed HSBC UK to release the funding to Ward.

Through its GEF product, UKEF provides partial guarantees to banks which help UK exporters gain access to trade finance facilities.

Ward has since used the additional funds to increase the amount of metal for export which is processed and stored at its docks in Immingham and more recently Cardiff. This allows it to load multiple ships simultaneously – each carrying up to 20,000 tonnes of material – and therefore export more metal in less time. In March 2023, less than a year after UKEF unlocked this £9 million financing deal, Ward achieved its highest monthly export sales of metals.

Tim Reid, CEO of UK Export Finance, said:

“Stories like Ward’s show how UKEF, working with financial institutions like HSBC UK, can unlock new exporting opportunities for firms across the country.

“Backed by the right financing, innovative businesses like Ward are supporting growth and reducing waste in the UK whilst making global supply chains more sustainable – this is something which we are proud to support”.

James Balfour, Finance Director at Ward, said:

“We have seen a phenomenal year of growth since this financing was agreed. Support from UKEF and HSBC UK has allowed us to bring our exporting business to new heights, especially in Asia and the Middle-East. I’m excited to see how our team can build on this success.”

Ward’s exporting success was recognized with a Queen’s Award for Enterprise for Excellence in International Trade in 2022.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-waste-data/uk-statistics-on-waste

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Ward Ambassador Dan Egner was the team’s main organiser, arranging a Couch to 5k challenge eight weeks before the race and setting up a Ward Athletes Strava Group and WhatsApp Group to share progress and keep people inspired and motivated.

In addition to generating over £6,600 for cancer research, with Ben Crosby raising over £1000 individually, three Ward athletes were among the top five finishers on the day. Billy Millership came third with an impressive 20 mins 29 seconds, Donald Ward clocked in 20 mins 58 seconds to take fourth spot and Dan Egner took fifth place with a time of 21 mins 30 seconds.

However, the real result is how many Ward Athletes have been bitten by the running bug and are keen to carry on with other runs, including a 10K and half marathons, thanks to Dan’s support.

Having only started his running journey last year, Dan has experienced multiple benefits from the sport, including a staggering 4.5 stone weight loss and improved mental health and fitness, which he wanted to share with his colleagues. Earlier this year, he and Donald Ward completed the London Marathon, and Dan is keen to keep progress his running, having already booked in for the Nottingham Half Marathon in September, another half in Manchester in October and next year’s Manchester Marathon in April.

Dan said: “The positivity and legacy have been the best part for me. We have staff who have never really run before this now taking on more 5ks, a 10k and Half Marathons but also quite a few who are now just running regularly, which is brilliant and great for people’s health and wellbeing. Levy Machon and Ben Crosby have lost two stone during the training to. A fantastic achievement for both.

“People are continuing to use the Strava and WhatsApp group and, hopefully, we can get another group of ‘Athletes’ to join us in the future. We also have an unofficial motto that we close out all our posts within the group ‘We Got This!’ and seeing everyone’s commitment and drive, it couldn’t be truer.”

Donald Ward said: “The teamwork and camaraderie on the day were fantastic, it’s certainly been one of my best days yet and Dan played a huge part in making that happen.

“Beyond the fantastic fundraising pot and notching up another achievement for our Let’s Smash Some Goals! campaign, we’ve introduced a new wave of Ward Athletes to the joys of running and its many benefits – it’s a great result.”

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Seven teams from across the business battled it out for championship glory at Rickmans Corner Community Centre. The line-up included Woodville Warriors, Inter Ya Nan, Transport B, Ward Wanderers, Non-Ferrous Hawkes, Redfox FC and Donald Ward House (DWH), with friends and family members supporting from the sidelines.

In addition to the action on the pitch, spectators young and old were treated to bouncy castle and face painting activities, games and BBQ refreshments, with all proceeds helping to top up the Derbyshire Mind charity pot.

DWH eventually took home the title with a 3-1 victory over Transport B, but the tournament wasn’t without controversy. The semi-final saw Transport B pitted against with Inter Ya Nan (ILK Ferrous) with Michael Jackson on the referee whistle – a divisive decision as he was also an ILK Ferrous player. Transport B was 2-1 up when the watch mysteriously stopped and there were friendly murmurs of foul play on Michael Jackson’s part. However, even with the additional time, Ilk Ferrous could not equalise and Transport B went through to the final.

John Simpkin, Waste Inspector and Ward Ambassador, was the driving force behind the event and was keen to support Mind as the charity partner due to his personal experience of their wonderful work to improve mental health and wellbeing for people across Derby and Derbyshire.

John said: “For me, what was so good was seeing everybody together having a good time where some of the employees playing would never, or very rarely, cross paths in their normal work life.

“I wanted to do this event for Derbyshire Mind as it’s something I feel very strongly about, having struggled with mental health myself in the past. I wanted to do football because exercise can be so beneficial to a person’s mental wellbeing, so I felt that a physical activity came together perfectly with what we were raising money for.

“The ambassadors and other members of Team Ward have worked really hard on this event and without them this would not have been possible, so I am so thankful.”

“Derbyshire Mind is a local charity supporting local people with their mental health and wellbeing. We were so grateful to hear that Ward chose Derbyshire Mind to benefit from their football tournament and family fun day. Not only is it great to hear of the success of the event, but it’s also great to hear that local businesses are raising awareness around mental health and wellbeing in the workplace.  Laura, Fundraising Coordinator at Derbyshire Mind.

Proceeds from the day are still being totted up, but it isn’t too late to donate, just visit the fundraising page. https://www.justgiving.com/page/ward-ambassadors-1688121878719?utm_term=jq68kneNq

For more information on Mind Derbyshire, visit: www.derbyshiremind.org.uk.

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The partnership will see over 25,000 tonnes per year of residual material from Ward’s materials recovery facility making its way to energy from waste (EfW) plants in Germany.

As part of the agreement, Ward has been working with baling systems specialist Witham Mills to install new baling and wrapping equipment at its Forward site at Ilkeston.

Powered by renewable energy, the move underpins Ward’s ongoing commitment to achieving its Net Zero aim of delivering 100% of materials processed from ending up in landfill.

Ben Stubbs, Operations Manager at Ward, said: “Energy from Waste is becoming pivotal in achieving global Net Zero aims and something we’ve been increasingly focused on, so this partnership demonstrates an ongoing commitment for Ward.”

“As a leading waste and recycling specialist, we consistently produce a high-quality product to a tight specification, which is vital for ensuring a reliable RDF supply. In addition, our continuous investment in improving and increasing our waste processing capacity makes us the perfect strategic partner for Andusia.”

Mark Terrell of Andusia, said: “We were impressed by Ward’s reputation as a leading waste and recycling specialist and their aim to achieve zero to landfill wherever possible.”

“Our organisations are perfectly aligned and Andusia is proud to be supporting Ward’s mission by working together to ensure more waste is recovered and diverted away from landfill and back into the supply chain to create renewable energy.”

Find out more details about Ward’s international metal recycling and waste management capabilities.

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