What Happens to All the Retail Waste in London’s Summer Sales?

As summer finally arrives, we all look forward to the legendry summer sales across London! But with a large amount of retail waste often left behind, there is a risk that volumes of clothing, plastic shopping bags and other materials could be disposed of irresponsibly.

If you run a retail business and just love shopping, it is important to consider ways to reduce the amount of items that are wasted during the summer sale, and indeed all year round.

Read on to find out more about this issue, what it means for the environment and, if you work for a retail outlet, how Skip It can help you solve this!

With the long-awaited summer sales starting towards the end of June and demanding shoppers storming the Capital’s stores until August, there is a serious threat of volumes of remaining waste being left behind to pollute our environment or simply stored in the back of our wardrobes.

While hoping to bag a bargain during the summer sales, the majority of people in the UK tend to hardly or never wear most of the clothes they purchase. Not only do consumers throw away their money but items are chucked away, when they could be very much appreciated by underprivileged individuals.

The continual drive of ‘fast fashion’ adds to the waste problem, with an estimated £140 million worth of clothing being sent to landfill each year in the UK. Most of these items could have been worn again or simply needed a minor repair.

A well-known issue in the retail industry is the excessive waste of plastic bags. Over the past decade, about 140 countries have been encouraged to ban plastic shopping bags or implement bag ordinances, in order to reduce plastic pollution. While retail companies have taken action, for example, by applying bag fees, there is still a huge volume of recyclable plastic bags tossed into the bin.

Plastic pollution continues to increase and plastic shopping bags contribute a great amount to this issue. Recyclable cardboard boxes and shrink wrap are simply thrown away as well. These raw materials are often either burned or dumped into landfill to pollute our environment.

It is never too late to make a change! Here are some tips to manage your waste.

If you run a retail business:

• Minimise packaging, when your costumers make a purchase
• Think of ways to use more recyclable materials for packaging
• Invest in a cardboard baler
• Educate your staff on retail waste and what they can do to reduce it

Alongside these important steps, make sure any waste you do need to get rid of – for example during a major seasonal change or refit – is disposed of with thought and care. Hire our reliable and responsible business waste collection service to do just this! Skip It’s professional team can manage just about any type and amount of business waste, with all the right tools and skills.

As a consumer, if you love to shop ‘til you drop:

• Make use of those reusable shopping bags – and save money too!
• Declutter your wardrobe to save space
• Mix and match older clothing to create new outfits
• Donate unwanted clothes to charity

We can help you dispose of your items responsibly too! With our flexible and effective House Clearance and Skip Hire services, you can rest assured that your waste will be recycled and disposed of responsibly, avoiding the unnecessary landfill and taking extra care of the natural environment.

We are committed to recycling, with 95 per cent of all the waste we collect being recycled by our network of accredited recycling centres.

So, contact Skip it today to find out more about our reliable waste collection services and join us to make our world a cleaner and greener place this sale season!