Washroom services firm PHS Group has announced a new partnership with Viridor to divert customer waste from landfill into power generation.
As part of LifeCycle, the firm's sustainable waste management strategy, the new multimillion-pound, five-year national contract will see non-recyclable waste transformed into energy at Viridor plants across the country.
PHS collects about 65,000 tonnes of hygiene waste from customers, including nappies and sanitary products. If disposed of within landfill, this waste can take more than 500 years to decompose.
However, with this new partnership in place, the waste will be treated at Viridor's energy recovery facilities (ERFs) to create low-carbon electricity, which is sent to the National Grid. This will enhance PHS customers' sustainability objectives by diverting waste from landfill and using it to create energy.
PHS has set an objective to divert up to 95 per cent of its customers' hygiene waste away from landfill.
David Taylor-Smith, CEO of PHS Group, said: "Organisations need to be questioning whether they should leave a burden of more than 500 years for every bag of washroom waste they dispose of. Through PHS's LifeCycle strategy, organisations will significantly reduce their impact upon the planet by landfill diversion and energy creation, transforming this burden into a legacy."
The new Viridor contract will give PHS national cover across its network of sites, significantly reducing the road mileage required to dispose of hygiene waste sustainably.