Top Tips

Build understanding of what is coming into and out of your organisation – your building/s (office, venue, training facilities, collection storage etc) and for the events, festivals, exhibitions or tours you run.

• Work out the main types of materials and products you spend your money on e.g. office supplies, print, exhibition or event materials (signage, banners, stands etc.), food and drink, equipment.
• Start building a picture of the types and volumes of waste you generate (e.g. paper, toners, batteries, packaging, WEEE), how it is dealt with (e.g. landfill, incineration, recycling) and by whom.
• If you do festivals, events or exhibitions or tours, choose one to start with.
• Work with your waste companies to get more and better information. If they can’t help, look at your options for changing to companies which can.
• If you use a range of different waste services, look at your options for consolidating all or at least your main waste services under one contract.
• Ask those who manage waste on your behalf e.g. landlords, local authorities, hired venues how they can help you better understand your waste.
• Bring in someone to do an independent waste audit.

Take a step back and ‘rethink’ your needs:

• What do you need to do what you do?
• Are there alternatives ways to meet our needs e.g. hiring, sharing, borrowing locally instead of purchasing new?
• Can you develop new approaches e.g. designing exhibition or events displays for disassembly and reuse or putting this in the design brief?
• Can you reduce the need e.g. rethinking print runs or using print-on-demand to avoid over-printing, providing less merchandise or doing without it, designing signage and banners for reuse at different events?

Use your purchasing power:

• Select a few key types of materials or products or specific events or activities you want to start making changes on, based on e.g. areas of high spend, high environmental impact, high brand visibility, more easily influenced/controlled.
• Start making changes. Refer to the materials choice hierarchy below and consider life cycle impacts i.e. what is the material or product made from, where does it come from, who made it, how is it transported, what impact does it have in use and at the end of its use.
• Set up a list ‘preferred’ and ‘red’ list of suppliers, materials or products e.g. printers which use non-toxic inks and processes, Forestry Stewardship Council wood and wood-based products, recycled or sustainably sourced and unchlorinated paper, no vinyl in signage and banners, no PVC, no polystyrene.
• Engage with existing suppliers to find out their environmental credentials and what sustainable options they are already providing or can provide.
• Start making changes when making new purchasing decisions.
• Ask new suppliers what their environmental credentials are and what sustainable options they can provide.

As a general rule, follow the materials choice hierarchy when selecting and acquiring materials (1 being the best choice and 6 the last resort):

1. Avoid unnecessary materials use or purchases.
2. Hire or borrow materials.
3. Use reclaimed, repurposed or recycled materials
4. Choose low impact materials; natural or organic; sourced with care for nature and human rights; non air-freighted; energy and resource efficient; non-polluting and non-harmful to human health in use; made or supplied by companies with strong environmental and ethical credentials.
5. Choose materials which can be returned, repaired, reused, or recycled at the end of their use.
6. Avoid or limit high impact materials; virgin materials; materials which contain toxic or polluting chemicals or substances e.g. PVC, solvents; fossil-fuel based materials (notably single-use plastics); materials which generate hazardous waste at the end of their use.

Make sure there is a clear approach to separating, storing and managing your different waste streams – regularly occurring waste such as paper, cardboard, plastic and general waste, food, batteries, toners, and, waste which occurs on a more ad hoc basis e.g. WEEE, old furniture and fittings, wood, used paints or solvents.

Share and communicate with your staff, cleaning contractors, audiences, visitors, event attendees etc. what you are doing and what they can do to help.