The 27th session of the Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC – COP 27 – is taking place right now in Egypt. The conference, which is taking place from 6-18 November in Sharm El Sheik, has seen countries come together to tackle the global challenge of climate change.
Building on previous successes and paving the way for future ambition, country leaders are working together to achieve the world’s collective climate goals as agreed under the Paris Agreement, which was adopted by 196 parties at COP21 in Paris in 2015.
Whilst the world’s leaders have their heads together making plans for a better future for all, it’s the ideal chance for everyone – from individual households to organisations of all sizes – to take a look at what they’re doing to combat climate change.
TJ is an environmentally responsible business and as such we have put many plans in place to achieve a lower carbon outcome…
TJ Waste is committed to diverting as much waste as possible from landfill, with up to 100% of the waste handled being directed down recycling routes. Materials that cannot be recycled may be reused for other purposes or directed down the Energy from Waste or biomass disposal routes.
We process all materials in line with WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) protocol. WRAP’s mission is to accelerate the move to a sustainable, resource-efficient economy by re-inventing how we design, produce and sell products, re-thinking how we use and consume products, and re-defining what is possible through reuse and recycling.
TJ Transport repurposes unwanted materials such as inert soil, contaminated materials (which are sent for treatment and reuse) and hardcore, for use in the creation of our own recycled bulk fill aggregate, iBlend. This is produced at our Butser Quarry near Petersfield, Hampshire.
We’re heavily invested in recycling as much plastic as possible as well as continually searching for new and innovative ways of recycling different types of plastic.
In 2019 we established a new recycling process for certain types of plastics, which we knew would be ideal for one of our clients, Jude’s Ice Cream. Their unwanted plastic ice cream tubs and offcuts are now made into a new product – pellets – which can be moulded into new plastic products.
We’ve also recently formed an official partnership with ocean health charity the Final Straw Foundation, whose work revolves around highlighting the impact of plastic pollution on our environment, local seas and wider oceans. We work in partnership to reduce plastic waste and pinpoint waste disposal companies that are responsibly disposing of waste in a bid to reduce fly-tipping and other illegal waste disposal practices.
During the first COVID lockdown in 2020, there was a surge in fly-tipping incidents in some parts of the UK, with the Countryside Alliance reporting a 300% rise in some areas following the closure of Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs).
We’ve been very active in assisting with instances of fly-tipping in the southern region throughout this period. It is something that we’re well-placed to deal with and we can draw upon our expertise to deal with more diverse fly-tipping instances such as liquid contamination and any hazardous materials that have been dumped illegally. These situations could present dangers to the surrounding environment, which is why our ability to respond quickly is key.
Our new IT system, Fissara Move, was designed specifically for us and can be utilised by our drivers on the move, via Samsung Galaxy tablet devices, as well as by office staff on desktop computers, improving communication between the two parties.
This improved two-way communication enables us to lower our carbon emissions as office staff are able to route our drivers – on both the Waste and Transport sides – more accurately. As and when things change, this can be communicated to the drivers immediately, eliminating unnecessary journeys and resulting in fewer wasted miles.
Our entire fleet is on a rolling renewal scheme, which means our vehicles are always modern and well-maintained and no vehicle is over five years old. It’s a fact that newer vehicles are more efficient and produce lower emissions; this is something that we take very seriously in our operations and that we’re very mindful of.
We’re committed to providing electric company cars to key members of staff to ensure internal travel is being done in the most economical way possible. So far we have equipped three employees with cars; these staff members are in roles that require them to travel between sites as well as visiting clients during the working day.
We’ve installed charging points at our different sites to ensure they can recharge their batteries wherever they go. By cutting out fossil fuels for regular travel, we hope to significantly reduce our company carbon footprint, resulting in positive environmental effects. We plan to purchase additional vehicles over the coming months and years as the need arises.
Find out more about the environmental commitment demonstrated by TJ Waste and TJ Transport…
