News
Not all FMs prepared for changes in waste law, says PHS Survey
Despite the fact that changes to the EU Landfill Directive on 30th October 2007 place a new, legal obligation upon organisations to “pre-treat” waste sent to landfill (which in most cases means segregating and recycling what we can first), only a little over half of facilities managers are aware of this fact, and knowledge of how to comply is sporadic, according to the 18th PHS Quarterly FM Survey, published in November.
The Survey, in which 200 UK facilities management professionals were interviewed in August 2007, investigated organisational awareness of the surge in new and amended waste legislation in recent years, and how FMs are responding to the challenges presented. It revealed that we’re better informed about some laws than others, and that FMs should be more pro-active in preparing for new laws affecting waste management, before they come into effect. Especially so, when there are plenty of government and other good websites available to help.
In respect of the Landfill Directive, only 56% of interviewed FMs were aware that a change had taken place, which would have implications for their organisations’ waste management procedures. Of these, 28% knew (or guessed) that they had to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill, a quarter knew that they had to recycle what had to be recycled, 20% knew that they had to segregate waste and just 16% were familiar with the central point – the need to “pre-treat” waste. And, despite the looming deadline for compliance at the time of interview, over half the survey respondents were either still planning or were unsure about what they’d be doing about it.
To download the complete FM survey please click here [link to PHS news page] or for our Guide to the Landfill Directive, please click here:
Legislation.