Morrisons Utilities Division (MUS)

Reconomy is the sole waste provider to the Morrisons Utilities Division (MUS). Critical to the success of the partnership is full transparency of waste, allowing MUS to make informed decisions, have confidence that they are fully compliant, and reduce the carbon emissions associated with waste removal and delivery.

The success of the relationship can be highlighted across the following key areas:

Visibility of Waste

It was important for MUS to obtain visibility of all waste being produced in-house and by their subcontractors. In order to maintain full control, the decision was made to manage waste in-house in partnership with Reconomy regardless of how/who produced it, using Reconomy’s experience and infrastructure across the UK through various disposal/tipping locations – using the Tipping App.

Reconomy’s Tipping App provides real-time smart logistics, guiding each operative required to compliantly dispose of waste, to the most cost and carbon-effective location based on their current and next location.

This information is then reported via the Reconomy Portal’s management information suite, detailing the waste type, quantify, diversion from landfill, recycling rates, and carbon impact.

Compliance

Using Reconomy gave MUS the instant win that all waste was now being managed in a fully compliant manner. Reconomy undertakes rigorous assessments of all suppliers to ensure they operate in a safe and compliant manner and have all the necessary documentation to handle waste streams that require tipping, such as EA permits, licences, insurances and that they were happy to work in line with the guidelines set down by both Reconomy and MUS.

Quality Assurance of Materials

The next phase of the partnership was to look at the quality of reinstatement materials with a particular emphasis on recycled aggregates. To assist in this, Reconomy took control and assessed potential recycled aggregate suppliers to ensure that their materials met the criteria and gradings for the type of material they were supplying. Once complete a group of aggregate suppliers were selected to supply recycled stone, replacing virgin materials.

This was a huge success, increasing the use of recycled materials from 19% at the beginning of 2017 to over 90% by the end of 2021.

Now MUS had visibility on waste and quality recycled aggregates, it was time to focus on reducing the carbon footprint for these services.

Carbon Reduction

Reconomy investigated ways in which carbon footprint could be monitored and reduced, implementing the DEFRA calculation for carbon produced. By monitoring MUS’s carbon, Reconomy could look at ways of reducing this. The benefits were:

1. Moving to recycled aggregates
2. Stocking aggregates in tip locations – thereby enabling the drivers to collect materials at the same location they were tipping waste, reducing vehicle movements and saving time
3. Developing a map-based app that would show all tip and collect locations for the required disposal and materials. This would direct the driver to the nearest tip location for the material he wanted to dispose of and, if he required, to collect stone from the closest location that held that stone, so he could tip and collect in one location. Once selected the driver would complete the relevant sections on the app and go to the chosen location. The disposal point would then be alerted by the app that the driver was en route to them, once at the location, tipping, loading of materials, weights would be completed and signed off by the driver and tip location. This would then automatically raise all necessary paperwork (WTNs) and movement records which would be sent directly to the Reconomy Portal to be viewed by the client within minutes of the transaction being completed.

Implementing these changes produced significant reductions in carbon per tonne of material:

Commercial

Changing to quality recycled materials saved circa 43% per tonne and decreased the number of defects.

Reconomy’s Tipping app reduced MUS’s disposal costs by 18.5%, driver time by at least 45 mins per day – increasing productivity, waste miles per movement by 37.5 miles – saving fuel and time, and time spent managing waste by 70% creating time available to do other important tasks.

Conclusion

Taking ownership of waste is the only way to obtain full control of what happens to it, this allows you to:

•  Fulfill your duty of care
• Have legally compliant paperwork
• Drive down your carbon footprint
• Use quality recycled materials for maximum financial and environmental benefit