• How does waste management and waste mitigation fit within the framework of ESG?

The Waste Hierarchy – reduce, reuse, recycle – tells us that preventing waste being produced and finding opportunities for reuse are always preferable to recycling, which often involves a loss of quality, with disposal as the last resort. Any strategy that reduces waste and promotes reuse and circularity, especially where those processes occur close to where the waste is produced, will have positive ESG benefits.

• How can the circular economy be integrated both into the construction of residential buildings and their usage?

The industry is already motivated to incorporate elements of the circular economy into construction of new residential schemes through green building standards. BREEAM and LEED both award points for everything from the reuse of demolition material to the specification of fixtures and fittings with reused, recycled or recyclable content. Developments with strong sustainability credentials will often have circularity built in and can often challenge the idea of waste itself.

• Are there design elements within buildings that help with waste mitigation?

Good building design will encourage effective recycling, the first step in any waste mitigation strategy. This can be as simple as ensuring kitchens are provided with space for food waste and recycling as well as general waste, and in making the process of disposing of these materials as painless as possible.

• What do you see as the limits and opportunities waste mitigation in commercial residential buildings?

Waste collections from residential buildings are made by the local authority. The local authority controls what waste streams are collected and where and how the waste is disposed of, limiting the building operator from developing bespoke waste strategies. This can prevent disposal of certain waste streams.

The focus on tenant engagement is most valuable for waste mitigation particularly if the site has a high turn-over in residents. This may include provision of storage space to share surplus furniture, or promoting platforms such as Olio which allow surplus or unwanted food items to be shared, preventing food wastage.

Beyond that there are a new breed of smart zero waste shopping platforms, such as the recently launch Loop in the UK, which allow residents to buy groceries online in packaging that is collected after use to be cleaned, refilled and used over and over again, completely avoiding the creation of any waste. If widely supported, such innovations could reduce the space needed for onsite waste storage, allowing more profitable use.

Student living, with its transient population, is more difficult to reach and engage with residents. However, as students are amongst the most environmentally aware sections of society there is an equal expectation that the waste impact of their accommodation is minimised.

• What are the best ways to change individual behaviour regarding waste? Carrots or sticks?

Good question! As with most examples of behaviour change it’s a little of both. With the level of public concern over plastic waste, I think the key to changing behaviours is about raising awareness and providing the tools that make it easier to reduce waste than to be wasteful.

• Does employing a waste mitigation strategy cost more?

No! Not least because not producing waste is cheaper than managing waste that has been produced. For operators, cost may not be the driving factor in residential developments as the cost of the local authority waste collection is covered in by local taxes. But there are other benefits from reducing waste, including minimised waste storage requirements and reduced refuse vehicle traffic, which can translate into cost savings for operators, owners and developers.

_{Read the articles within Report: Global Living – 2020 below.}