Snuggledown of Norway

Helping Snuggledown of Norway achieve Zero Waste to Landfill certification

Snuggledown of Norway, part of John Cotton Group, is passionate about the environment and wished to demonstrate this commitment to customers by preventing waste from entering landfill. However, they were unsure what to do with certain waste streams and how to achieve Zero Waste to Landfill certification.

Zero Waste to Landfill Logo

Snuggledown of Norway contacted Valpak’s Recycling Services Team for help and advice. The process began with our Waste & Resource Traceability Manager, Emily Hare, providing advice over the phone. A site audit was also carried out and, once this had taken place, further guidance was provided on the steps the business needed to take to gain certification.

During the audit, we discovered that the business needed to gather some additional evidence. Once this was acquired certification was granted and, due to the business being dedicated to their goal, the whole process took a mere three months!

The business now demonstrates their Zero Waste to Landfill achievement by using our certification logo on email signatures, exhibition stands and other marketing materials.

During discussions, Emily also discovered that the business wasn’t receiving the right value for cardboard collections. The Valpak team used the pricing index to provide a true, transparent reflection of what was happening with the markets and a new contract was set up.

Carbon Footprints

Snuggledown of Norway saw some positive results as a result of striving to achieve Zero Waste to Landfill certification.

Valpak Recycling Services now collect several different waste streams from their sites, including cardboard and packaging materials. They have also managed to reduce the carbon footprint of their cardboard collections, off the back of the new contract, by diverting the material to a closer paper recycling mill.

Achieving Valpak’s Zero Waste to Landfill Certification has also helped Snuggledown of Norway to achieve Marks & Spencer’s eco-factory status, which resulted in their products being added to the supremely washable range. This equates to the manufacture of 100,000 quilts and 200,000 pillows and has led to conversations with other UK department stores that are looking to work with them.

In addition, we verified that by-products (large feathers) from the manufacturing process were meeting Environment Agency by-product requirements, which means they can continue to supply them back to the farm that provides the feathers.

With Valpak’s support and advice, we not only managed to achieve Zero Waste to Landfill certification for 2019, but also managed to reduce our carbon footprint and gain increased value from some of our waste materials. The business opportunities that have arisen from this recognition are a bonus.

Alastair Coulter, Managing Director, Snuggledown of Norway