Innovation is the name of the game in the waste sector for many reasons. It can help you secure funding and grants from the government, it can help you stand out in the waste sector and it can give you more opportunities to assist the planet and make a difference. Innovation is important regardless of the sector you’re in, but when it comes to the waste collecting and processing industry, it’s one of the most important components of your business to work on.
In this post, we’re going to take a look at five companies that are each doing something unique and different in the waste sector. Whether it’s taking advantage of a niche or making recycling more accessible, these five companies are leading the charge when it comes to innovation.
Coffee Recycling
Coffee is consumed all over the world in copious amounts and is starting to spread worldwide, even to countries like China that are historically not very big on drinking coffee. The UK alone consumes 95 million cups of coffee each day, creating tonnes of discarded coffee grounds each year that will end up in landfills, producing harmful glasses that slowly destroy our planet. Bio-Bean has come up with a clever service that has made them the world’s largest recycler of coffee grounds. By recycling the coffee grounds into a large number of different products fit for both consumer and industrial uses, they’re taking an innovative approach to a unique type of waste that is relatable.
Nappy Recycling
A ludicrous 3 billion nappies end up in landfills each year because they’re difficult to process and recycle. However, taking a “difficult” task and turning the process into something easy and manageable is a form of innovation. This is exactly what NappiCycle is doing with their complete nappy recycling service. This is a waste product that many families in the country produce, so when they see a company offering to collect and recycle their used nappies, it instantly becomes more relatable to the general public. The company is heavily invested in finding a solution for the nappy waste problem in the United Kingdom. This level of dedication helps to make the company popular with not just the general public, but also governments and investors who are willing to assist the business with funding.
Plastic Recycling
Plastic recycling certainly isn’t new or innovative. As such, you might think that there’s no more innovation left to do here–but you’d be wrong. Even though processes exist for plastic recycling, it’s still important to refine and optimise them. That’s why companies like Plastic Expert are setting an example with their sustainable plastic recycling services that can manage everything from utility pipes to farm plastics. With the introduction of plastic recycling experts, the process of reusing plastics can be made far more efficient. It also helps with the collection of scrap plastics that are waiting to be recycled.
Wood Recycling
With over 4.5 million tonnes of waste wood being generated each year in the UK alone, it’s clear that something needs to be done to reduce the amount of wood waste we produce. Companies such as Enva are leading the way with its collection, reprocessing and recovery services that help people recycle their wood-based products. Whether it’s a broken shelf, outdated furniture or even wooden delivery palettes, wood recycling companies can handle it all. Wood that is sent to wood recycling companies like Enva could turn into anything from biomass fuel to animal bedding. Panelboards can also be created from recycled wood, giving these wood recycling companies a lot of options for what to turn their waste wood into.
Battery Recycling
More and more recycling plants such as EcoSurety are beginning to offer battery recycling services. Due to how extremely harmful batteries are to the environment and humans (caused by the chemicals inside of batteries) disposing of them properly is incredibly important. Many recycling companies are starting to offer battery disposal services that focus on the collection of used and worn batteries, but also the recycling process itself to harvest any useful components from the batteries while also safely disposing of the chemicals inside.
For the waste sector, innovation typically means building new processes that help us recycle more of the goods that we use. Whether it’s wood, coffee, batteries or even nappies, innovating in the waste sector isn’t difficult as long as there’s a practical use for your new innovations. If you have fresh new ideas that you want to see realised, it’s important to secure the right funding and grants to help you bring those ideas to life.
