Responsibility is key for eco-friendly business Waste King (The Telegraph)

For domestic and commercial waste clearance business Waste King, responsibility, such as being environmentally-friendly, is the top priority. 

“Be responsible” is rarely top of the list of goals set out by new companies, but when Waste King was founded in 2007, helping local people and improving the environment were front and centre on the business plan.

Waste King clears homes and commercial properties – a service that could be seen as an innate brand of corporate social responsibility: unwanted waste such as old clothes, CDs and books is collected, processed and in most cases recycled.

Business is good and turnover has increased from £26,000 in 2008 to £588,000 last year.

But the London-based company has only one eye on profits and has taken several extra steps to ensure it has a positive impact on local people’s lives.

The business diverts some of the higher-quality waste to good causes, including clothes and shoes to the Salvation Army and records, CDs and DVDs to the British Heart Foundation.

It also donates a selection of old computers to a severely autistic local man called Matthew, who finds comfort in dismantling and rebuilding them.

“Young people with autism need learning experiences tailored to their requirements,” says Andy Cattigan, Waste King’s operations director. “If we can do something to help Matthew and others like him to get more out of life, we’re delighted to do so.”

Being environmentally friendly is also a major focus. The firm’s ethos is to reduce long-term pollution by sending the smallest amount of waste possible to landfill and it guarantees to recycle at least 85 per cent of what it collects.

“If you’re in the waste and recycling business, it’s important to be seen not only as professional and competent, but also as caring for the environment,” says Cattigan.

“It’s important that Waste King provides a ‘green’ and ‘clean’ service as well as a competitive one.”

Among its other community activities, Waste King has sponsored a football club and even rescued a giant African land snail which had been thrown away. Employees named it Colin and lent it to a local school for safekeeping.

Read the full Story on The Telegraph - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/business/sme-business-essentials/9397531/environment-business-waste-king.html

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