Waste and resource management

We aim to reduce the amount of other waste we produce by lowering our consumption of materials where practicable and to reuse items and recycle where possible.

For Nationwide, paper remains the most significant category of waste, and in our last report we stated our intention to review and improve our waste management policies. We recycle 100% of paper from all of our UK sites. This includes any unused or out of date marketing and direct mail literature. Individual waste paper bins have been replaced by central lockable waste bins, and all paper is treated as confidential.

New colour-coded bins ensure that paper, DVDs and other media are separated from general waste, to then be shredded and recycled under secure conditions. The need to recycle all paper and media has been communicated to all employees by news items and a dedicated intranet site.

We also offer members using our online facilities to opt out of receiving printed statements. Read more in Products.

Other examples of waste management initiatives:

• 90% of the materials used to produce our marketing and direct mail literature have recycled content
• we donate surplus furniture and office equipment to Green Standards’ Waste2Wonder initiative, a charity that redistributes items to local schools and charities. Over 100 tonnes has been sent to Green Standards since the relationship began
• we are investigating recycling wooden pallets into wood shavings instead of disposing of them to landfill
• we encourage our suppliers to follow good environmental practices. Read more in Suppliers and Partners

Waste recycled at administrative buildings (%)

See data table with more detail.

The reduction in the proportion of general waste recycled in 2006/07 was due to a transition from a number of separate suppliers to a waste management contract with a single supplier for all our administrative buildings. We are now working with this supplier to improve our overall management of general waste and, in particular, the level of this waste that is recycled. We are also continuing to reduce as much as we can the proportion of our IT and office equipment that is sent to landfill, by finding ways that it can be reused.

back to top