M&S drives down waste to landfill by 33% in a year

Marks & Spencer is sending a third less waste to landfill than it was a year ago, the retailer announced today (June 10).

Marks & Spencer is working with Severnside and Shanks to drive down waste at all its stores. In the last twelve months, the amount of waste it sent for landfill disposal fell by 33% while the amount of food waste generated has reduced by 20%. The retailer also collected 133 million clothes hangers and re-used 76 per cent of them with the remainder being recycled.

In addition, the company reported that Birstall, a Simply Food store near Leeds, became the first ‘zero waste to landfill' M&S store in February.

The revelation came in M&S's annual ‘How We Do Business Report', which details the progress of Plan A - the company's eco and ethical programme launched in 2007 - including measures to tackle climate change, use sustainable raw materials, be a fair partner and produce healthier food.

Under the plan, the retailer has committed to stop sending waste to landfill from its UK and Irish operations by 2012.

All waste from M&S stores is handled by recycling companies Severnside and Shanks, under a three-year deal agreed in June 2009 (see letsrecycle.com story).

The report also highlighted that M&S reduced food packaging by 20%, and used 417 million fewer carrier bags in 2009/10 compared to 2006/07.

Read full story at Letsrecycle.com