Sustainability
We are committed to sustainability and environmental protection across all our services.
Our commitment to sustainability
As a company we are committed to sustainability and environmental protection.
We support Bristol’s One City Plan and One City Climate Strategy, and as a leading partner we’re contributing to the city becoming carbon neutral by 2030. We’ve also committed to our company being carbon neutral by 2030.
As representatives on the City’s Environmental Board and Bristol’s Carbon Neutral Transition Team, we are a key contributor to achieving these shared goals.
“We stand ready to help Bristol achieve its sustainability and carbon net zero targets.”
Bristol Waste Impact Report, 2023
Our work includes measuring our impact, developing environmental and carbon reduction plans, buying eco-friendly products, and investing in our local places and people. Our achievements include award-winning waste reduction, recycling and behaviour change campaigns.
As well as waste and recycling collections and street cleansing, our communications team speak to residents daily through online channels and our community engagement team talk to residents face to face.
In partnership with our sustainability team, we run campaigns such as #SlimMyWaste, #LitterHurts and #BigTidy to inspire change, keep our city clean, and push forward the city’s sustainable goals.
Measuring our impact
Measuring our environmental impact is integral to our Business Management System and organisational processes.
We measure our scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions, which allows us to monitor the impact of our:
- existing services
- new services
- service changes
- energy saving measures
We’re also working towards full reporting of our scope 3 emissions.
Social impact
Bristol is the no.1 English core city for recycling, for eight years running. In 2023, we recycled over 71,000 tonnes of wate and diverted 50,000 items through our reuse schemes.
We improve the environment by making 21.9 million refuse and recycling collections each year. We clean 800 miles of streets every week. Through enhancing our services, we tripled the recycling participation in Bristol city centre. In 2023, we gave back over £30 million in social value.
Through our commercial business, we are taking this ethos to other locations we serve beyond Bristol.
Sustainability teams
Our Safety, Health, Environment and Quality (SHEQ) and sustainability and engagement teams work together to create and deliver our annual Sustainability Plan.
This sets out improvements that we plan to deliver for the business each year. We’re also developing a carbon reduction plan with targets.
We seek to innovate across all areas of work, and we have systems and software such as PurGo that helps carbon reduction through its route-planner function.
Eco-friendly products and renewable energy
We’re committed to the procurement of eco-friendly consumables and equipment and consider their carbon footprint and environmental impact.
For example, we use BioHygiene’s advanced biological cleaning solutions that replace harmful chemicals with eco-friendly alternatives. Our cleaning products are carbon neutral and sourced from renewable materials, free of toxins harmful to humans and aquatic life, and help reduce plastic pollution.
Bristol Waste purchases energy on a renewable tariff and where possible we offset the carbon emissions of our fuel via our suppliers.
Investing in places and people
We work with residents, visitors, organisations, and communities across Bristol. A total of 90% of our workforce are residents of Bristol and where possible we use local suppliers.
Our HR team forges partnerships with locally-based organisations such as ACH and Babbasa, to provide a pathway to employment for refugees and give opportunities to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
We educate and promote sustainable behaviours around how we consume and manage our resources though our sustainability and engagement. This feeds into the wider understanding of climate change and risk, and the changes people can make to reduce their impact.
IT Reuse and Reuse Shops
Our work includes the Digital Inclusion Scheme, where we work with Bristol City Council, to provide IT equipment to schools, charities, and marginalised communities.
This helps to make a more connected and inclusive society and reduces what goes into the waste stream.
We also collect items that are not suitable for this scheme, for IT Reuse or recycling. Donated items are good for the environment, and an investment in the future of Bristol and beyond.
Each of our Household Reuse and Recycling Centres has a Reuse Shop, where donated items are sold. These range from bikes and fully-serviced electricals to furniture and homeware. Profits are put back into reuse and also support local charity work.
Award-winning sustainability campaigns
The award-winning food waste campaign ‘Slim My Waste’, helped Bristol households increase the amount of food they recycled by 16% in the month immediately after the campaign.
Our ‘Waste Nothing Challenge’ provides people with hints, tips, and knowledge to help them reduce their waste. In its second year, participants saw a 60% reduction in their own waste and threw away 77% less than the average Bristol household. It’s now available as a 30-day email campaign.
We also have a challenge for schools, with 5 waste-busting missions from our Waste Nothing characters including sticker rewards for going on a litter pick, recycling sorting activities, and becoming pros at zero waste.
Keeping Bristol clean and green
We’re proud of the work we do through the Big Tidy and our litter campaigns – working with community groups and corporate volunteers.
Our litter kits are free to borrow and help reduce litter, which if left would pollute and damage the environment and our waterways.
Protecting Bristol's biodiversity
At our sites, we aim to dedicate areas to improve local biodiversity.
We’ve sewn wildflowers at our Avonmouth site and our Hartcliffe Way Household Reuse and Recycling Centre features more pollinator-friendly flowers, trees and a bug hotel.
Our sustainability policies
Read more about Bristol Waste’s sustainability and environmental policies