If you didn’t know, GIS means maps. Well, it means spatial data – gathering it, manipulating it, answering questions with it. Ah, and it also means the software used to do these things. If we’re being literal, it means Geographic Information Systems (or Geographic Information Science). I find it’s easier to understand GIS in terms of its uses.
GIS is how we can answer questions like:
I recently completed a masters at the University of Bristol including several modules developing skills in GIS and spatial analysis in Python. In my degree, I explored species distribution modelling, land use suitability assessment, vegetation index modelling, and catchment-based water quality assessment among other things. Since returning to my job in the sustainability, waste and resources industry, I’m finding use cases everywhere.
As part of recent reforms to the UK packaging regulations (pEPR), obligated businesses need to declare whether the packaging they sell (or distribute) items in can be easily recycled. This has serious financial implications, as hard-to-recycle items are hit with a higher fee. If a packaging type is not widely accepted in household recycling (think blister packs, pet food pouches, beauty products and similar), it may be declared as having “amber” recyclability if it meets certain criteria. Among other things, there must be a take-back scheme for the packaging, with 75% of the UK population living within a 5-mile journey of a take-back point; there must also be evidence that the collected packaging is recycled and has an end market. The question of whether or not 75% of people live within 5 miles of a take-back point is one I have been answering a lot recently.
Using maps of population density, return points and road networks, I have been able to produce robust and auditable evidence that various schemes – including the National Cup Recycling Scheme, flexible plastics, and a make-up take-back scheme – meet the accessibility criteria required for an amber declaration. While other evidence is also needed for the full recyclability assessment, my work is a key step in saving businesses a considerable amount of money on their packaging bills.
I recently wrote a white paper on the upcoming Deposit Return Scheme for England and Northern Ireland. The scheme will come into effect from October 2027 and will see consumers charged a small amount (~20p) on top of the retail price when purchasing drinks in plastic bottles and aluminium and steel cans, to be refunded when the packaging is returned for recycling. The paper is supported by analysis of a hypothetical network of return points hosted at major supermarket retailers. I used GIS to show that such a network would be accessible to the vast majority of people, but risks further entrenching car dependency in rural areas.
GIS skills have also proved useful in an aesthetic sense. Spatial information can be hard to digest in tabular form, so maps of local authorities, trade and waste flows and more have been useful enhancements I can offer on projects. I strongly believe that the true measure of the success of a consultancy project is how the insights are used by the client. Seeing the results in a visual form can really enhance how it is received and understood, benefiting everyone (as well as being fun to produce).
In addition to these applications, I can think of a wide range of potential uses for GIS. Some of these might be answering questions which aren’t obviously about spatial data – you may have a GIS problem without knowing it.
I’m looking forward to generating insights from the increasingly granular data that is being generated in response to industry innovation and regulatory pressure. If you have a challenge or opportunity I might be able to help with, I’d love to hear from you.