Plastics and waste
There is growing worldwide concern about plastic in the environment. We are working hard to reduce our own contribution to this problem as well as support initiatives to help customers reduce their reliance on single-use plastic.
Our interaction with plastic takes place in three key areas:
- Operational waste plastic: this is plastic that arises from our own activities e.g. packaging from items that we purchase, remnants of newly installed plastic pipe, and office consumables. Our assets (pipes and treatment centres) are usually pathways for plastic rather than sources, however we do have a small number of treatment processes which could be a potential source if the plastic they used as part of the process accidentally escaped.
- Plastic in the water cycle: this is plastic that finds its way into water sources, sewers and treatment works. It includes plastic from wet wipes, sanitary items, incontinence pads etc. and microplastics from clothes fibres, tyre fragments and degradation of larger plastics.
- Plastic used by customers to consume water: customers use single-use plastic bottles for hydration purposes.
Plastic type | Issues | What we are doing |
Operational waste plastic |
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Water cycle plastic |
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Plastic water bottles bought by customers |
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Waste management
We have set an ambitious target to lead the way for waste management in the water industry, around ten years ago we set out an aim to divert 100% of our non-sludge waste from landfill by 2020. In 2019 and 2020 we were successful in diverting all waste we possibly could from landfill, averaging 99.75% of all waste being diverted from landfill. The very small amount of remaining waste was mostly waste that can legally only be sent to landfill, such as waste contaminated with asbestos and some invasive species.
We will continue with our zero waste to landfill target and set further waste reduction targets going forward. We are the only water company that has committed to ensuring all possible waste from across the business avoids a trip to a landfill site.
Our approach is being embraced throughout the business, including during major construction schemes. For example, we now do not use landfill for any of our inert waste which is produced across the business. This is over 100,000 tonnes of material diverted from landfill each year.
As well as construction, we are also enforcing the zero-landfill promise throughout day-to-day operations, including the water recycling process (sewage treatment process).
Plastic, paper and sanitary material from non-flushable items such as wet wipes and nappies that are screened out from water recycling centres (sewage treatment works), as well as grit from the road falling into sewers are traditionally sent straight to landfill.
Instead, at Avonmouth water recycling centre, our subsidiary company GENeco pioneered a compositing process for these materials, as well as that from other companies. The compost like outputs are used for land reclamation projects such as in old china clay pits in Cornwall. Any plastic remnants from this process go to incineration to produce electricity.
Now that we have diverted all possible waste from landfill, we are looking at reducing waste and managing problematic waste streams. The potential issues surrounding plastics have risen up the agenda in recent years and we are aware of the importance of minimising plastic waste. To see specific work we are doing on plastics all round our business, have a look at our plastics position statement (above).