Recycling on a roll
April 1st 2009

PHS has launched Paper Track, a scheme where it collects office paper, recycles it in the UK,and delivers it back as toilet tissue. PHS Direct MD, James Clark, says economically it doesn't cost any extra, and ecologically a lot less. Brendan Coyne reports

The problem with many 'greener'products or services, according to PHS Direct managing director, James Clark, is that everybody's at the front of the queue until they find out the cost is higher. But with Paper Track, where PHS collects office paper, recycles it in the UK, and delivers recycled toilet tissue back to customers, there is no premium charge to PHS' standard commercial rate for paper collection and toilet paper delivery.

"It's something businesses are already doing – they may be having their waste paper collected and may be using recycled toilet tissue.

We're just joining up the dots and making sure people understand the route."

Following the paper trail The key issue, says Clark, is that as a society we have lost track of the uglier side of waste. By bringing it back into people's consciousnesses,we are reminded ro reduce, reuse and recycle.

"There is no such thing as 'throwing something away'.That 'something' always ends up somewhere," says Clark."Paper Track aims to change people's behaviour, by reminding them what happens to every photocopy they make or envelope they use.And that helps move people towards a more sustainable way of working – turning off unecessary lights and equipment, turning down the heating, car sharing to work. It's about the zeitgeist and once people 'get' paper Track they will take it on because it is very easy to do."

Financial savings? Given that Paper Track paper is collected in the UK and therefore not subject to fluctating currency exchange rates (the vast majority of paper market reels are imported) – and therefore travels fewer miles, reducing logistical costs – shouldn't paper track tissue actually be cheaper? Clark says not.

"Everything has its base price.Toilet paper is a commodity product and you get to a point where its difficult to take the price any lower.

There is also additional investment from a PHS perspective in terms of auditing the paper that comes out of customer premises to ensure it becomes part of the fibre pool and delineating that at the paper mill to make sure the resulting mother reels are made up of Paper Track paper, which is vital to the concept." As part of the service PHS also provides customers with free marketing material – posters and stickers, email newsletters etc, to ensure staff buy-in to the concept.

"So,"Clark rhetorically asks,"is there a cost saving? No.Are they going to get better value for money? Yes. But it comes back to not using so much product in the first place, which is where the money savings can be made."

Attracting SMEs Since 'soft' launching the service at the end of last year, Clark says the majority of Paper Track take-up has come from larger organisations with an individual or department responsible for CSR. He says the key now is to attract the bulk of its customers – the SME sector.

"Around 65% of our customers spend less than £500 on these sorts of products so Paper Track is common sense:Their paper should be collected properly because it contains sensitive data – names, contact details etc. And all businesses need toilet paper. So for those customers who already receive both of those services from PHS, it should be an easy conversion."

Attitude adjuster Clark says it is important for staff to buy into the process – and what applies to paper applies to utilities.While he says Paper Track joins up the dots in paper collection and toilet tissue delivery, it also encourages customers to look at PHS water saving products, such as the Flush-wiser, or its AirForce One hand dryer which, it claims, uses up to 80% less energy than traditional counterparts. Effectively then, Paper Track, as well as joining up the dots between paper collection and tissue delivery, is joined up thinking from a PHS sales and marketing perspective? "If PHS as a group can help customers be more ethical, save resource – and therefore money – then we are doing a good job,"says Clark. "It's hardly a case of everybody walking off into the sunset living happily ever after, but small changes build a different way of doing things – and I think we've lost sight of that over the last couple of decades."

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