An Ikea store’s ongoing
efforts to reduce its carbon
footprint have resulted in a
renewed relationship with
waste handling and recycling
equipment supplier,
Greenbank.

The Gateshead branch of
the Swedish furniture store is
using a Greenbank compactor
to reduce the volume of
restaurant waste that cannot
be recycled. Now, instead of
having a skip collected 16
times a month (and more
over Bank Holiday weekends
and peak trading periods), a
waste collecting company
calls just once a week.

Kylie Wilson,
environmental specialist at
the North East Ikea branch,
says: “Larger scale initiatives
include changing our
product packing to reduce
the size. This means we can
get more onto each wagon,
thus reducing the total
number on the road.”
Greenbank didn’t just
provide advice and supply
the compacting machine, but
helped finalise details for a
concrete pad on which to
stand the machine and put
the company in touch with a
firm that would collect its
compacted bales.

Kylie Wilson adds: “We
had dealt with Greenbank in
the past and received good
service and the solution they
offered this time has proved
to be an ideal one for us. It is
greatly reducing our
transport costs.”