Waste management and recycling

At our sites

An area of constant focus is reducing the solid wastes that result from our operations. Where waste is unavoidable, we look for ways of diverting it from landfill by reusing and recycling it.

In all our household depot operations we now have systems in place to recycle plastic and cardboard.

In manufacturing sites we have reduced solid waste to landfill by over 200 tonnes from the 2007 levels. Our target for the next 12 months is to reduce waste by a further 10%, and by 2015 to have zero waste going to landfill where this has environmental advantages.

We have been working with our plastic bottle suppliers to create a better collection system for used milk bottles. Recycling centres have now been set up in London and the north of England where used HDPE (High Density Polythylene) bottles can be cleaned to a standard that allows the plastic to be recycled into new bottles. Plans are in place to ensure that all plastic milk bottles include at least 10% recycled material by the end of 2009.

On our supplying dairy farms

Around 250 suppliers use the Solway Recycling system (one of the options available through the White Gold Service). This is a complete waste management service based on a unique bin-and-liner system to segregate, store, dispose of and recycle all types of farm waste, such as plastics and card.

Food waste

As well as working with the government’s Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) on packaging reduction, we also support their Love Food Hate Waste campaign. Our products are supplied in a variety of pack sizes to allow the consumer to choose the most convenient, and when we develop new lines, we look at how packaging can help minimise food waste without compromising food safety standards.