When did it launch and what is it?

J&G Environmental specialises in the collection of hazardous waste. Its waste audit service was launched around five years ago, both as a means of understanding the needs of clients and as a tool to attract new business. 

The company looks at each of a company’s waste streams and advises on how it could better dispose of and store its waste.

J&G Environmental’s customer service manager Richard Spreadbury says: "What I’ve found over recent years is that it’s difficult to give an accurate quote for waste collection without seeing exactly what is required. The waste audit enables us to gain a thorough understanding of our clients’ requirements and pitch for work at the same time."

What does the audit aim to achieve?

According to J&G Environmental, the waste audit helps printers to improve the efficiency of their waste disposal and ensures that they are complying with waste disposal regulations. 

"Compliance is often the most important issue for printers," says Spreadbury, "it is a very serious issue as, if, for example, a printer is leaking chemicals, it could be shut down."

J&G Environmental finds that printers are also keen to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill, particularly in view of the high cost of landfill tax, currently set at £56 per tonne. 

The company has also found an increasing awareness among printers of the importance of being seen as environmentally friendly.

Spreadbury adds: "Nobody wants to be associated with a printer with a bad environmental track record."

How is it carried out?

J&G Environmental visits the print site and identifies each of the company’s separate waste streams and any other requirements of the company in terms of its waste disposal and storage systems. 

Spreadbury says: "When an opportunity comes along to quote for a new job, I’ll visit the site to identify and understand what waste is generated and work out the best way to dispose of it. Then we will give the client recommendations, based on what we would do to improve their waste disposal. We try to minimise the amount of waste going to landfill and maximise the amount recycled."

The company asks for 12 months’ information on the volume of waste being disposed of by the printer and what the weekly or monthly waste disposal requirements are. 

"Getting a year’s worth of data enables us to offer the best possible deal," adds Spreadbury.

Printers are also asked to provide information on how they currently store their waste and what they perceive as the current problems with their waste collection. 

The audit can take just a few hours but, for bigger sites, it can take longer to get a thorough understanding of the client’s needs. Spreadbury says: "It may take several visits to nail down all of the details."

What are the benefits?

J&G Environmental aims to ensure that printers have a thorough understanding of their waste streams after the audit has been conducted.

The audit will identify any areas of waste disposal that could be improved, which help businesses to save money and in some cases can provide lucrative income streams. For example, The Guardian Print Centre, which prints The Guardian and The Observer and is one of J&G Environmental’s clients, earns around £2,000 per month from recycling waste, including aluminium plates, chemicals, batteries, fluorescent tubes and IT waste. 

Having an efficient recycling policy can also be used as a marketing tool to help printers stand out amongst the competition. 

How much does it cost?

The waste audit is a free, no-obligation service, which, Spreadbury admits, doubles as a sales pitch. The company is able to talk through and provide quotes on the different services that it can offer.

Spreadbury says: "It is a free service as if we can get, for example, a two-year deal following the audit then, from our point of view, it is time well spent. For our existing customers, we offer a similar service whereby we pay regular visits to their site and make recommendations based on any changes from previous visits." 

How many audits have been carried out?

The company has carried out several hundred waste audits since it launched the initiative five years ago, for companies including CPI, Warners Midlands Printers and Eclipse Colour Printing.