Epson Telford Achieves Zero Waste to Landfill

Epson Telford Ltd. is responsible for manufacturing ink cartridges and other products for the European market. As Epson’s only European-based manufacturer, the company has established an excellent reputation within the local business community for operating a proactive, high-quality waste recycling operation from its site in Shropshire, UK.

All of the waste generated by the various processes conducted on site undergoes a rigorous assessment for recycling potential, and, after working with nationally recognized recycling distributers, Epson Telford can return the recycled waste to the market. Valpak is a leading UK-based company specializing in waste management and environmental activities. Valpak identified an increasing requirement for organizations to demonstrate their environmental commitments, and launched a Zero Waste to Landfill Award aimed at eliminating waste sent to landfill sites.

Having worked with Epson Telford over a number of years providing advice and support on environmental and recycling issues, Valpak was aware of Epson Telford’s record of excellence in recycling. Valpak therefore approached Epson to be an ambassador for the recycling process using best practice procedure as a model process to establish the requirements for the new award. Epson Telford was delighted to be selected, and in June 2012 a team of auditors from Valpak were welcomed by Epson Telford staff to audit waste streams and establish the benchmarks for the award.

The standards established were very demanding; zero waste to landfill, no more than 5% of waste to be incinerated and a requirement for 95% of all waste to be recycled and returned to the marketplace. In setting and achieving these targets, Epson Telford became the first company in the United Kingdom to be awarded the prestigious Zero Waste to Landfill Award and in doing so, set the benchmark for other companies to achieve this environmental recognition. Since the award is assessed annually for continuous improvement, the employees at Epson Telford are now working extremely hard to improve on their already impressive performance to achieve a successful end of year audit and re-accreditation.