The document discusses the impact of the 'green fence' on plastic waste management, leading to increased general waste and incineration costs at Ricoh. It proposes the adoption of anaerobic digestion as a more cost-effective and environmentally friendly method for handling food waste, suggesting significant potential CO2 savings. Implementing this change could result in annual savings of approximately £590 and a reduction in environmental impact.

1. General
Waste
Reduction
Food Waste Segregation
Ashlee Savage
19/11/13
Version: [###] Classification: Internal Owner: [Insert name]
1

2. General
Waste

3. General Waste
•The Green Fence effect came in to effect at the beginning of
2013. This has filtered down the supply chain to us which
means we cannot send our poorly segregated plastic to
China. This has led to much of the plastic being mixed with
General Waste and sent to incineration rather than being
recycled.
•While investigations are being made into the plastic
recycling issues, we need to investigate other means to
reduce our overall general waste.
11/19/13
Version: [###] Classification: Internal Owner: [Insert name]
3

4. General Waste
General waste for incineration (tonne)
July 2012July 2013
July 2013Now
June
May
April
March
February
January
December
November
October
September
August
July
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
Tonne
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Month
•From July 2012- 2013 our general waste totalled 92.6 tonnes (blue bars).
This was while one container a month was being sent for incineration.
•This cost £12,800 a year.
•The average cost per tonne (including container rental and transport)
between July 2012 and July 2013 comes to £186
11/19/13
Version: [###] Classification: Internal Owner: [Insert name]
4

5. General Waste
General waste for incineration (tonne)
July 2012July 2013
July 2013Now
June
May
April
March
February
January
December
November
October
September
August
July
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
Tonne
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Month
•As the graph shows, from September 2013 the general waste increased
due to plastics, which were otherwise recycled, being sent to incineration
(Red bars).
•This has led to increased costs as two containers are being sent to
incineration per month rather than just the one.
11/19/13
Version: [###] Classification: Internal Owner: [Insert name]
5

6. General Waste
•In February 2013,after a week long visit at Ricoh, a report was produced
by Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP). This report
summarised the results regarding waste in the kitchen/catering areas at
Ricoh.
•Table 1 shows the total kitchen waste per year split into categories of
avoidable food waste and unavoidable food waste.
From these results it is estimated that 4.6% of the Total General Waste
volume on RPL site is accountable as food waste from the Canteen
facilities.
11/19/13
Version: [###] Classification: Internal Owner: [Insert name]
6

7. Anaerobic
Digestion
19/11/13
Version: [###] Classification: Internal Owner: [Insert name]
7

8. Anaerobic Digestion
• Anaerobic digestion is widely regarded as the most
sustainable method of disposal of biodegradable waste.
• 100% of the waste is utilised. Gases are used to
generate energy and residue is used as fertiliser on
fields.
• Through doing this it is possible to create a carbon
footprint saving of 0.5 to 1.0 tonne of CO2 equivalent per
tonne of food waste.
11/19/13
Version: [###] Classification: Internal Owner: [Insert name]
8

9. Anaerobic Digestion
Flowchart showing the process from
Waste to energy
Organic
Waste
Sorting and
shredding
Electricity and
heat
Supply to campus
and grid
Generator
Biogas
Screening
Digestion
Tanks
Digestate
Farm
11/19/13
Version: [###] Classification: Internal
Owner: [Insert name]
9

10. Anaerobic Digestion
This table shows the constituents of Food waste in which are accepted by
Cartwrights and “Harper Adams Energy”.
These products are
the main
constituents of our
general waste and
are permitted by
Harper Adams.
These products are
not permitted in any of
the waste sent off to
Anaerobic Digestion.
As a relatively small
facility we do not
handle these anyway.
11/19/13
This specifies no copy, laminated or printer paper. However, paper
towels and biodegradable tissue papers are permitted.
Version: [###] Classification: Internal Owner: [Insert name]
10

11. The Benefits
1. Cost
• We are currently paying £138.50 per tonne of waste sent
for incineration with Heat Recovery. When including the
transport and container hire this amounts to £186 per
tonne.
• Costs for Anaerobic digestion are lower at £50 +VAT per
tonne. This is including transport and 240ltr wheelie bin
hire.
11/19/13
Version: [###] Classification: Internal Owner: [Insert name]
11

12. The Benefits
Cost Breakdown
Incineration
Process cost
Anaerobic
Digestion
£138.50 per tonne
£12 per 240 ltr bin
Container hire £1.50 per day
Included in process
cost
Transport/
pickups
Weekly pickup
included in process
cost
£216.27 twice monthly
Total cost per £186*
tonne
11/19/13
£50
Version: [###] Classification: Internal Owner: [Insert name]
12
* One container hold 5.5 tonnes

13. The Benefits
2. Key Fundamentals 4 & 5 (Environment and CSR)
• Possible net savings of 960kg CO2 equivalent per tonne
of food waste. (4281.6kg per year)
• Carbon Dioxide and methane products are prevented
from entering the environment therefore cannot
contribute to Global Warming.
• Leftover residue is used on local fields to promote
growth and production.
• Electricity and Heat products are put back on the grid to
fuel local homes and businesses.
• This is a closed loop system as 100% of the Waste is
recycled into useable products.
11/19/13
Version: [###] Classification: Internal Owner: [Insert name]
13

14. The Logistics
• After an initial one-off delivery charge of £20 for the
clearly marked 240 ltr “Food Waste” bin it is collected
once a week and the bin hire is included in the cost.
• Each collection is provided with a duty of care waste
transfer note, weighed and recorded for our
documentation.
• If contamination occurs other than tissue paper and
paper towels then the bin will be returned to us. This
means segregation rules have to be created and
managed and waste streams mapped and managed by
the Recycling centre.
11/19/13
Version: [###] Classification: Internal Owner: [Insert name]
14

15. In Conclusion
Although segregating Food Waste will not solve the problem of ever
increasing volume of General Waste due to plastics, it will alleviate
some pressure and improve the situation.
Costs of Anaerobic Digestion are much lower than Incineration and the
environmental impact is considerably lessened.
If we decide to switch to Anaerobic Digestion we can make a total yearly
saving of around £590.
In addition to this we could make a net saving of 4281.6kg CO2 equivalent.
This is an important step in demonstrating the Ricoh Way (KF4).
This process has been benchmarked through the BESST group and has
been proven to work in other organisations such as Lyreco.
11/19/13
Version: [###] Classification: Internal Owner: [Insert name]
15