A study of waste logistics in the retail sector – opportunities for ‘greening’ the take-back process

Using Winchester High Street (United Kingdom), this paper investigates the waste collection mechanisms currently employed by businesses and explores the options for more sustainable approaches to waste logistics. Contracted collections, back-loading using delivery vehicles and disposal via the businesses own staff were identified as the three main disposal systems used. As waste collection systems were tailored towards specific operational and financial constraints, there was limited cooperation observed between businesses producing similar waste types in terms of consolidating collections, optimising collection vehicle activity and maximising material recovery. Co-ordinated back-loading, where small to medium enterprises (SMEs) feed recyclate into the take-back schemes of larger retailers served by centralised distribution systems is one option. Take-back schemes should target the recovery of cardboard (50% of the total waste output) as results suggested that the average business could generate 1,299 litres or 1.23 roll cages of this recyclate per week. Wide scale participation has the potential to improve recycling rates whilst reducing the number of collection vehicles operating within the High Street, although there are some fundamental barriers to this concept which would need to be overcome. Joint domestic/commercial collections, utilising the domestic waste collection fleet to service certain SMEs could also help reduce waste collection vehicle impacts in confined urban centres. Local authorities would have to be the key drivers of such ‘take-back’ strategies, being prepared to stipulate that in certain areas, waste management would be undertaken in a particular way, perhaps using certain recognised processes/contractors for the benefit of all businesses in that are