As we head towards the end of 2016, we reflect on the year that’s gone.
It has been an interesting and exciting year for us at Clarity Environmental, and one that has seen each of our divisions continue to grow and succeed. We have welcomed several new team members to the Clarity family, grown the membership of our packaging and WEEE compliance schemes, passed our ISO accreditation audit with flying colours and worked with new business partners. We asked our team members to share their highlights of 2016.
Record PRN trading year
After a long period of volatility in the PRN market, 2016 has seen far more stability, with prices holding steady across many grades this year. By the time the Q3 packaging recycling data was released in October, most grades had either met their targets or were well on their way.
Whilst the PRN market has been vastly different to that of recent times, it has been another record-breaking year for our PRN trading team who have surpassed last year’s success. Commercial Manager, Chris Taylor, said “The 2016 market may have been immensely different to recent years, but the success of our PRN trading team has continued to rise and 2016 has once again been a record year for us, with new purchasers turning to Clarity to use our PRN services. We have two new recruits to help us to continue this success in 2017 and look forward to introducing them in the new year.”
Compliance schemes welcome household names in 2016
We have continued to welcome new members to our packaging compliance scheme this year, with some major household names joining us from within the drinks and retail industries. Packaging Compliance account manager, Martin Trigg-Knight, said: “We are proud of the service we offer to our packaging compliance members, with cost-effective membership options, clear advice and friendly communication, and we’re delighted that more and more businesses are turning to us to help them meet their packaging recycling obligations.”
Our waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) compliance scheme has also grown in size this year, supported by an extensive WEEE recycling network. The success of our Recycle with Clarity initiative is helping us to meet our targets and welcome new producers to our compliance scheme. We look forward to working with all of our members in 2017, as well as introducing our scheme to even more WEEE and packaging producers over the coming months.
Network expands for our waste-to-fuel division
This year has seen our waste-to-fuel division continue to succeed, with a growing number of waste producers joining our RDF and SRF network. Working with a variety of sectors, and off-takers in the UK and Europe, we are helping to divert waste from landfill, reducing disposal costs and environmental impact. Assisting the next stage of growth, the team has now been joined by Paul Chapman who joins us as a consultant to our Waste and Recycling division.
Business Development Executive, Charlotte Heather, said: ” We are immensely proud of the growth we’ve seen in the division over the last few years, and are pleased to be working with so many businesses across the UK and also in Europe. We now have our sights set on further expansion in 2017, and we’re delighted to have Paul working with us to help us to achieve that growth.”
Doing our bit for the environment
We have continued to raise funds for environmental charity Restored Earth in 2016 and were delighted that the charity chose to give a grant of £10,000 to a project that will return a former car breaker’s yard to nature. Restored Earth was set up to restore land previously used in the waste industry so the ‘Scrapyard Challenge’ is a perfect fit for the aims of the charity. David Adams, Managing Director and Restored Earth Trustee, said: “We have a long heritage in the waste industry, and our donations to Restored Earth enable us to give something back to the environment. We are proud to be able to support the Shropshire Wildlife Trust with this project and would like to thank all of our customers who are playing a part in helping the trust reach their target and restore this rare habitat.”
We will keep doing our bit for the environment in 2017 and look forward to sharing our efforts for charity.
Achieving challenging recycling targets
Working in the waste and resources sector we feel a duty to lead by example, and over the last few years, we’ve made some impressive year-on-year progress with our recycling rates. In 2013, we made the commitment to improve the amount of office waste we recycle and have set ourselves some challenging targets each year. We are happy to report that we’ve achieved these and have now increased the amount of waste we recycle from 550kg in 2013 to 980kg so far this year, which is an impressive 78 per cent rise.
Putting our customers first
Our customers are at the heart of our business and we are committed to delivering unrivalled service to each and every one we work with. We have highlighted this commitment in 2016 with a new customer charter, an online feedback form and a new design to our website with easier navigation and more advice and information.
Season’s greetings
We would like to take the opportunity to thank all of those we have worked with over the course of the year for their continued support and business. We wish all of our customers, suppliers and partners a very merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year and we look forward to working with you again in the new year.
If you would like to talk to us about any of our waste to fuel, environmental compliance or trading services, now, or in the New Year, please do not hesitate to contact a member of our team on 0845 129 7177 or email us at: info@clarityenv.eu.
Christmas opening hours
Our operations will continue over the holiday period with a reduced service running from the afternoon of Friday 23rd December until 8am on Tuesday 3rd January. If you need to get in touch with Clarity, please contact your account manager in the usual way and they will be happy to help.
Merry Christmas from us all.