Waste management + cleaning services = sparkling results for clients

When it comes to helping organisations with their waste management, very often it is cleaning companies who are part of the decision-making process, as they want to make sure they work with someone who can best meet the demands of their clients.

Bringing in a specialist waste management provider under their own umbrella of services enables cleaning companies to add value to their own business.

Beverley Mason, Business Development Manager at Berkshire-based Brayborne Facilities Services, explains how this works for them.

“As a specialist contract cleaning company, we are very experienced in cleaning, but we recognise that we don’t have the same expertise in other service areas and that’s why we choose to work with particular specialists,” she said.

“With waste management, customers are looking for a provider that can help them achieve targets such as zero waste to landfill, as well as reducing their general waste and increasing their recycling.

“Compliance is also important, having the correct licences and disposal methods is essential, which is another good reason to work with a reputable company.”

For the last seven years, Brayborne has chosen to work with Grundon Waste Management, which provides waste management and environment services across the south east.

When working together, typically one of Grundon’s waste experts will join the Brayborne team at a meeting at the client’s premises to carry out an audit and discuss issues such as waste goals and objectives.

This will include looking at the type of waste produced, finding out if any segregation takes place, and recommending any changes that need to be introduced.

Solutions will range from removing under desk bins and replacing them with corridor bins for recycling of office materials such as paper, plastics and cardboard materials; to managing the destruction of confidential waste; and arranging the safe disposal of hazardous waste items such as aerosols, light bulbs, cleaning fluids and toner cartridges.

Sometimes, organisations will want a more environmentally-friendly way of disposing of food waste rather than sending it to landfill, in which case Grundon will arrange for dedicated food waste bins to be supplied and collected by its specialist food waste service.

The segregated food waste is then taken to Anaerobic Digestion facilities, where it generates green energy and bio-fertiliser.

Grundon’s partnership approach is also popular with Essex-based Peartree Cleaning Services. The two companies began working together when Peartree was tasked with providing a waste management solution for one of its clients and needed to find a supplier which would meet its own very high standards of operation.

Peartree’s Commercial Director, Stuart Conroy, said: “We are a family-owned, independent business, so client relationships are effectively more important to us than profit margins, we know we need to give a phenomenal service and we expect absolute 100% commitment from the people we work with.

“We needed to find a like-minded provider, some of the waste management companies we spoke to had no validation and reporting procedures in place. Grundon, on the other hand, could not only support us by providing a good service, but also give us the statistics we needed to meet client reporting demands.

“Grundon understands that clients want to know the tonnage of the waste they are producing, how it is segregated into different waste streams and what happens to it next. They are able to give us that information in a timely fashion to enable us to report back on a monthly basis.”

For more details on the services provided by Grundon Waste Management, please email info@grundon.com or call 01753 686 777.

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How Grundon helps Brayborne to deliver service excellence

Having previously worked with two preferred waste management suppliers, in recent years Brayborne Facilities Services has chosen to work exclusively with Grundon Waste Management.

Beverley Mason, Business Development Manager, says as a fellow family-run business both organisations share the same ethos.

“Ben Cuthbertson, our main contact at Grundon, is always reliable, responsive and readily available on the end of the phone,” she added. “If there are any issues, we know these can be rapidly resolved and we have the full support of senior management at Grundon.”

Beverley also likes the fact that Grundon owns its own operations, which has enabled and teams from Brayborne to visit Grundon’s Energy from Waste (EfW) facility and Materials Recovery Facilities (MRF) in order to gain a better understanding of waste disposal and recycling methods.

They have seen for themselves how operations such as Grundon’s ability to generate electricity at its EfW allow it to export energy to the National Grid – enough to power approximately 50,000 homes and equivalent to a town the size of Slough – and this, says Beverley, is popular with customers.

In addition, Grundon provides hands-on training for Brayborne staff and will often visit customers face-to-face to help identify ways in which savings can be achieved.

“They are very good at coming up with solutions,” continued Beverley. “Ben will visit customer sites, look at what they need, suggest ideas and help them with all the necessary paperwork, so they really help with customer education.

“Ultimately, customers want collections to arrive on time, to cause the minimum disruption or mess, and for drivers to be polite and responsible as they empty the bins. Grundon is able to deliver that and they are also very flexible in that they only collect and charge for a bin when it is full, which also helps reduce customer costs.”

Among Brayborne’s clients are a large data company in Winnersh Triangle and a well-known pharmaceutical company in Bracknell.

Ben Cuthbertson, Business Development Manager, who has worked with Beverley and her team for the last five years, said: “We are proud to work alongside the Brayborne team and keep in regular contact to ensure clients are up-to-date with additional service requests, changes in disposal methods, and general waste consultancy.

“Being able to offer waste management services under the Brayborne umbrella is a win-win for everyone and we make every effort to ensure the partnership works well for everyone involved.”

Wokingham-based Brayborne, which is recognised as one of the UK’s most respected and successful contract cleaning companies, became part of The Exclusive Services Group family in January 2016.

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Tips and advice

These top tips can help identify the best waste management partner:

• do your research – make sure you work with a reputable and qualified waste management partner who has a good track record
• consider if you think they would be a ‘good match’ for your business and your clients
• ask for testimonials or evidence of work undertaken for similar organisations
• ask about their auditing and reporting procedures – clients will want to know how new waste management processes are benefiting them
• check for membership of professional organisations, such as the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM)
• ask about how they will ensure your clients are kept fully up-to-date with all the latest compliance issues and regulations
• ask if you can visit their premises (possibly even with your client) in order to understand how they work
• plan to meet your likely account manager and find out what they think they can do for your customer