What Does Waste Have To Do With Climate Science?

When we look at a bin full of waste we see the stuff, the rubbish. Maybe we see a bag full of bottles and coffee cups from a food court, wheelie bins full of black bags or a skip stacked with ripped out plasterboard and carpet from an office de-fit.

What we don’t see (or really think much about) is the energy and resources that went into making the products we buy, use for a while and ultimately throw away.

Every product we buy started out life as a resource: mined minerals/metals, farmed vegetation, or extracted oil. The original resources have been extracted, (most likely) treated with chemicals and had other materials added before the product is created. Then of course, we often add packaging. The various materials in a product and it’s packaging may collectively have travelled many thousands of kilometres around the world at each stage in the manufacturing process until they reach the final product stage to be transported to a shop or warehouse and then to your building or facility.

Items in our buildings have various life-expectancies, some items will last a few years (e.g. furniture), some maybe months and some, particularly packaging, probably less than a matter of hours before it goes in the bin. It is worth considering that these products and materials in the building that are destined to be waste can also be a drain on resources. A classic example is food waste in a kitchen. It costs your business time and money for it to be ordered, received at the loading dock, moved around the building, chilled, stored, prepared into a meal, possibly served to a customer and then disposed of and collected by the waste service provider. What a waste of money, time and energy, to say nothing of the resources that went into growing and transporting it to you!

All of the extraction, processing, manufacturing and transport that goes into each product uses energy. Often, a LOT of energy and often energy generated from burning fossil fuels. According to a study by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 45% of global greenhouse gas emissions relate to the production of consumer goods.

When we throw those products (or packaging) into landfill, we throw away both the valuable resources and we waste the vast amounts of ‘embodied’ energy (the energy used in the process of creating the product).

But, the climate impact story for our discarded products and packaging doesn’t stop with the lost embodied energy and wasted resources. If the product is organic matter (e.g. food, paper, card, natural fabrics, etc.) when buried in landfill, it will naturally break down in the absence of air. This breakdown process or ‘anaerobic decomposition’ creates a gas that is rich in methane. Methane gas has over 50 times the global warming impact of carbon dioxide (IPCC Second Assessment Report). In fact, when you consider the whole life cycle, food waste is identified by the United Nations as a key factor contributing to climate change.

From a carbon-accounting point of view, the overall greenhouse impact of transporting and disposing of waste (including sending for recycling) contributes to ‘Scope 3’ (indirect) emissions. Businesses targeting ‘net zero’ carbon will need to consider the impact of their waste being transported from their sites and either recycled (relatively low emissions) or buried in landfill (high emissions, particularly for food and paper/cardboard).

Solving waste problems is more than just litter and landfills. Tackling waste at source is a major part of the solution to the climate crisis.

One of Encycle’s areas of expertise is in assessing the solid waste generated in buildings, organisations and institutions. We understand waste data and help our clients in determining their baseline waste generation and material recovery performance. Being independent from waste contractors, we are well placed to identify practical opportunities for waste avoidance, reduction, reuse and recycling. We help our clients to set waste minimisation and diversion targets, and map out the pathway to achieving them. Our team are also highly skilled in stakeholder engagement and behaviour change programs, breaking down common barriers and misconceptions when it comes to getting people to change and improve their purchasing and waste disposal habits.

Whilst recycling is much better for the environment than sending waste to landfill, it is a last resort when it comes to the circular economy. In a circular economy, it’s all about designing out waste, keeping products and materials at their highest and best use, and regenerating the natural environment. That means, just like in the natural world, no waste; only materials circulating again and again and again through maintaining, reusing, redistributing, repairing, remanufacturing and refurbishing. We must transition to a circular economy if we are to reach net zero by 2050. Every organisation has a role to play no matter where you are in the supply chain. Collaboration is the key to solving our complex and wasteful systems. Encycle is here to help. We have no time to waste.