Global Recycling Day 2024: Time to embrace the circular economy

March 18th marks Global Recycling Day 2024. The annual event shines a light on the value of combating waste and keeping resources in the value chain. Recycling offers businesses an ideal opportunity to cut costs, reduce their carbon footprint and build more resilient operations. At Wylde Connections, we are supporting companies large and small in putting responsible waste management at the heart of their Sustainability Strategy. We encourage the whole of the business community to boost recycling rates as part of their work to balance the needs of people, profit and planet.

Global Recycling Day was first celebrated in 2018 to raise awareness about the role recycling can play in preserving the precious primary resources we all rely on. The event’s organiser The Global Recycling Foundation refers to recyclables as the “seventh resource.” It estimates that each year they save 700 million tonnes in CO2 emissions, and this is projected to increase to 1 billion tons by 2030.

Recycling diverts waste from landfill and by reducing greenhouse gas emissions helps combat the climate crisis. At the same time, addressing the scourge of pollution is critical in tackling biodiversity loss. More than 6 billion tonnes of plastic waste has been generated since the production of synthetic materials began in the 1950s and 150 million tonnes of that is already polluting our marine environments, harming species and damaging delicate ecosystems. 

Increasing recycling rates is key to reducing waste, protecting nature and driving decarbonisation.  Our planet’s resources are finite and only by keeping them in the value chain for longer can we help secure a more sustainable future.

The theme of Global Recycling Day 2024 is #RecyclingHeroes. The event will recognise the people, places and activities that showcase what an important role recycling plays in addressing our environmental challenges.

For business, recycling saves money, boosts ESG credentials and secures a competitive advantage. Many of the clients we work with at Wylde are already taking the opportunity to embrace circular thinking and reject the traditional take – make – discard economic model. That means viewing waste as a wasted resource.

Top tips for embracing recycling

• • Production – Integrate recycled materials into your production process. Work with suppliers to cerate closed loops that recognise that one person’s waste can become another’s raw material.
  • Product lifecycles – Develop schemes that incentivises customers to return your products once they have finished using them. Find ways of reusing, reengineering and recycling components so that resources are kept in the value chain.
  • Better by design – Build circular economy principles into product design. Ensure that components can be easily replaced, repaired and recycled.
  • Closed loops – Form collaborations and partnerships with business who can use your waste as a resource or provide you with recycled materials to fee into your own operations. Also work to ensure packaging is recycled wherever possible.
  • Providing the infrastructure – Ensure that recycling becomes second nature for the entire workforce. Raise awareness about the environmental and business benefits and provide access to bins so that it is easy for people to divert waste from landfill.
  • Audit – Gain greater insight into your waste production and management. Conduct a waste audit and develop a reduction programme that can be measured and reported.

Recycling will have a much greater impact if it forms part of a holistic approach to ESG. At Wylde we help businesses develop a robust Sustainability Strategy, Action Plan and Road Map. This is achieved through a blended mix of consultancy, guided workshops sessions and online learning that has responsible resource management at its core.

Book a Discovery Call today to learn more about how Wylde can support you on your sustainability journey and ensure you operate as an ethical and responsible business.

To learn more about Global Recycling Day, visit: www.globalrecyclingday.com