Case Studies

Vital statistics: 

• Project: Business waste collections 
• Client: Works Social
• Sector(s): Private business, start up, co-working, shared office, event venue and bar
• Material(s): Dry mixed waste, paper, confidential waste, glass, cans, food waste 
• Services: Supply of wheelie bins and regular waste, recycling and glass collections
• Location: Nottingham City Centre
• Contract Start Date: April 2019
• Contract Completion Date: Ongoing

In brief…

Co-working and event space start-up, Works Social, needed a flexible and scalable waste management and recycling solution which could grow as its business did. Ward offered advice and support to help the Works Social team increase recycling rates, improve sustainability and achieve value for money from collections. 

The Future of Work 

Works Social is a membership co-working space and event venue in Nottingham. It has 40 desks rentable by freelancers and small businesses, plus a number of benches for hot-desking and has a busy event schedule with a bar.

Following a complete renovation of the four-story, Grade II listed former Lace Works, Works Social opened for business in April 2019. The entrepreneurial team behind the new venture needed advice and guidance on how to manage waste and maximise their recycling, as more members joined the community. 

Collections Conundrum

The business had two 240L Council wheelie bins, one for recycling and one for general waste, which were collected on an alternating weekly basis. This meant they could go for two weeks without having the general waste bin emptied. 

The start-up business quickly needed more regular collections as the number of members increased and they needed a regular glass collection to cater for the increasingly busy bar and event space. 

Also, as the bins were generic council bins, other businesses were using them for their waste and over-filling them in between collections, so Works Social was struggling for space.  

Sustainably Scaling Up

Keen to be as sustainable as possible in all areas of their business, Works Social sought a provider that could deliver reliable recycling services with a guaranteed duty of care. They wanted to work with a waste management partner who could be flexible and enable them to scale up and down collections as required. 

Ramping up recycling

Following an assessment of their needs, through a free waste audit, Ward has provided Works Social with three 340L wheelie bins – one dedicated recycling bin for dry mixed waste such as paper, cans, cardboard and another general waste bin which are collected weekly. A glass recycling bin is also collected once per month, but can also be increased as and when events take place. 

Where’s your wheelie bin?

Ward has also been able to accommodate a tricky location. The office is situated in the heart of Nottingham’s Lace Market and the bin store is in a locked courtyard, which we can only be accessed after 8am on week days. Ward has been able to work its city centre collection schedule around to make sure that Works Social is the last one on the round.

Lise Garner-Morgan, cofounder and Operations Director at Works Social said:

“We started off with only a few people in the building and now we are almost full, so being able to scale up and down services as we need them is a real bonus for us as a growing business. Ward has worked with us to really listen to our needs and given us support and advice about what is right for our business. They’ve made recommendations based on the number of people, types of waste we are likely to produce and the activities that take place here such as events. All of the advice has been spot on. 

“It is easy to add ad hoc extra collections by contacting our dedicated account manager Leanne and requesting an additional services. When we’ve got several events on or have excess packaging from buying furniture and supplies for the building it’s good to know we can get the waste removed and recycled easily, as we don’t have much storage space.”

“As a start up we are also price conscious, but Ward has been very competitive and offered very reasonable rates – particularly as we are still paying for our council bins through Council tax!”

Next steps…

As the business has grown and the event space is becoming more established, Works Social is upgrading its bins to larger, lockable 660L ones. They also expect to increase their recycling rates, having worked with Ward to educate its members on what can be recycled, to reduce the overall amount of waste destined for landfill. 

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