Fashion retailer begins to profit from waste operations

SuperGroup, the owner of clothing brand Superdry, has started compacting its waste as part of a campaign to improve recycling operations at its distribution centre.


As part of the works, materials are compacted using a baling press before being stored at its distribution site ready for bulk collection. This is in contrast to the company’s previous method of recycling which saw packing being deposited into a number of wheeled bins and collected loose on a daily basis – a system which created no financial benefit.

According to SuperGroup, it now benefits from a financial rebate for the material collected and offsets some of its packaging compliance costs through the generation of packaging waste recovery notes from its own recyclable packaging.

It has also been able to reduce the number of waste collection vehicles coming to the site each year by arranging for bulk collection.

To help achieve its recycling targets, SuperGroup commissioned Valpak to identify areas for environmental, operational and commercial improvement. Following an onsite assessment it was concluded that a baling press would provide the most effective solution.

It has since awarded Valpak a contract to supply the baler, which was manufactured by HSM, and fully maintain it for the duration of the agreement.

In addition, SuperGroup’s standard wheeled bins have also been replaced with colour coded drop front wheeled bins, which will help reduce the strain of manual handling and cross contamination of the waste materials.

SuperGroup’s sustainability manager, Toby Abbott, said: “This solution ensures that all of SuperGroup’s bulk packaging waste will continue to be recycled whilst adding efficiency and financial sustainability to the process.”

Carys Matthews

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