Waste
Westfield is committed to managing waste efficiently, by minimising waste sent to landfill, and re-using and recycling waste wherever possible. This year Westfield is reporting waste data for Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. In future years this will expand to include the United States.
In Australia waste management includes such initiatives as the public place recycling program which was launched in 2010; retailer education and training; improved engagement with cleaning providers; and dock consolidation to reduce the number of waste docks in operation. In New Zealand there has been continued emphasis on a long-term strategy to reduce waste to landfill and increase recycling.
The UK portfolio has focused on retailer engagement to educate and encourage waste segregation with a range of initiatives contributing to a zero-landfill-to-waste achieved at all centres.
In 2011 across Australia, the United Kingdom and New Zealand there were 694,144 tonnes of non-hazardous waste in 2011 and 3 tonnes of hazardous waste. The volume of waste is highly dependent on the level of construction activity across the Group’s portfolio, with over 70% (498,950 tonnes) of waste in 2011 from the excavation waste from the redevelopment of Westfield Fountain Gate in Australia. The reclaimed of waste from Fountain Gate was predominantly silty clay with approximately 95% of waste reused, recovered or recycled. A large portion of this waste was reused onsite for general bulk-filling (avoiding resource depletion of virgin construction materials), and a small portion (1-2%) was used predominantly as sub-base material in road construction.
The 3 tonnes of hazardous waste in 2011 comprised asbestos from redevelopments (at Belconnen and Carindale Home & Leisure Centre in Australia) which was securely disposed to landfill.
Breakdown of Waste Disposal by Waste Category in 2011
