The recycling bug has finally reached the Rock as environmental awareness continues to gain ground, both in the public and private domains.
After years lagging behind other European communities, the Gibraltar Government last spring announced the start of a recycling program that has received strong support from across all sectors of society.
And whereas the government initiative targets glass and cans, the private sector has stepped in to fill the gap with tailored recycling schemes geared to offices and businesses.
Within days of the distinctly-coloured recycling bins appearing throughout Gibraltar last May, households across the Rock began to separate their waste.
Helped by long-running campaigns in schools and by non-governmental organisations such as the Environmental Safety Group, the recycling program quickly took off.
The green bins are for glass bottles, drinking glasses, tumblers and jars, while the yellow bins for metal lids, bottle tops, drink cans, steel food tins, household aerosols and clean aluminium foil.
Regular trips to the bins have now become part of routine household chores for many families across the Rock.
As part of a wider contract with the Gibraltar Government, local company, Master Services, exports the glass and cans to a recycling plant in Spain.
The program encountered an initial glitch due to an administrative problem with the documentation of the vehicle carrying the waste, but this has now been ironed out.
Even before the start of the government-funded recycling scheme, one private company had established a similar business focused on corporate needs.
Clarke Recycling Services [CRS] works with companies in Gibraltar to recycle their waste in a hassle-free way.
Against a background of increased environmental awareness, a growing number of businesses and organisations are looking for ethical, cost-effective ways to dispose of their waste.
PartyGaming, one of Gibraltar’s main internet gaming companies, is one such business.
“PartyGaming is committed to participating in recycling programmes and also preventing the production of waste,” said Velda Parry, at the company’s health and safety team.
“We encourage staff to think about the environmental consequences before they print documents and, where possible, we recycle materials such as paper, computer equipment and printer consumables.”
Jacqueline Clarke, a former finance centre worker, saw that there was a gap in the market to help companies achieve such goals.
Having witnessed the potential demand at first hand, she took the plunge and set up CRS, establishing links with recycling plants in Spain.
The business model is relatively simple. CRS provides customers with eco-friendly white bins made from recycled cardboard. The bins are fuss-free and fit neatly into any office environment.
The contents of the bins are then regularly collected by CRS staff and taken into Spain for recycling. The frequency of collections – and the pricing of the product – depends on the needs of each individual business and on how much waste it generates.
CRS is licensed to handle many types of waste including ink cartridges, batteries, computer equipment, plastics and light bulbs.
But it mostly specialises in handling the inevitable by-product of any large office, even those that try to reduce the amount they generate: paper and cardboard.
Just over a year into the business and CRS is expanding fast, not least because many companies require recycling services to meet internal environmental sustainability targets, or as part of an established environmental credential scheme such as the ISO 14.000 environmental management standard.
At another basic level, recycling represents good PR that can even help companies gain a competitive edge over their rivals. CRS helps promote companies and organisations that have taken proactive steps toward establishing an environmentally friendly workplace.
“All our clients are concerned about the impact that irresponsible handling of their waste could have on the environment and the economy,” Miss Clarke said. “We want to help them reuse what they can and we will recycle the rest.”
Its clients range from gaming companies such as PartyGaming and 32 Red, to service providers as varied as insurance company Argus and shipping agents Maritima del Estrecho. Even the office of the governor has signed up, as has Bayside School.
Some businesses have also found that the service provided by CRS is popular not just with staff but with their own clients.
“College Clinic has wanted for some time to contribute to protecting our environment and now with the service provided by Clarke Recycling Services, we are able to do this through paper recycling,” said Doctor Joanna Shelley.
“As a clinic accessed by large numbers of people, the facility to dispose of batteries is also very popular with members of the public.
CRS says this is an affordable service, though the price will ultimately depend on the nature of the company requiring the service.
“These are tailor-made solutions so it very much depends on the business and how much waste a client produces,” Miss Clarke said.
“Some people will need collections several times a week, while others will only need a visit from us once a fortnight.”