Case Study: Dundonald Links
Implementing an environmental
policy helps golf course save money
and achieve zero waste to landfill
Dundonald Links
Benefits
Opened in 2003, Dundonald Links covers over
60 hectares near Troon in Ayshire. It comprises
an 18-hole golf course, a clubhouse, practice
areas, golf shop and car parks. Around 22,500
rounds of golf are played each year and the
course has hosted a number of professional
and amateur tournaments.
This case study demonstrates the business benefits that can be
achieved by developing and sharing a company-wide environmental
policy. Dundonald Links’ commitment to its environmental policy has
helped it to achieve:
• Zero waste to landfill
• Total waste disposal costs reduced by 60%
• Waste metal disposal costs reduced by £1,500/year
• A saving of nearly £1,200/year by providing drinking
water from a water cooler rather than bottled water and
eliminating the need for plastic cups and cutlery
• Savings of over £43,500 through avoided costs for top soil
You can do it too
Dundonald Links took advantage of the free support available through the
Zero Waste Scotland website. Useful resources that are available to help you develop
and implement an environmental policy include:
How to write an environmental policy
On Course For Zero Waste – Foundation Level: four, 40-minute modules provide all the
information you need to develop a Waste Prevention Plan – ideal for lunchtime learning.
Background
Dundonald Links is committed to the
environment and has implemented a wide
range of proactive measures to help protect
and sustain the local, national and global
environment, and strives for continual
improvement as part of its environmental
management system.
“Dundonald’s
achievement in
getting to a position
of zero waste to
landfill demonstrates
what can be done
to minimise golf’s
impact on the
environment. Waste
management is one
of the key issues
regarding the game’s
social responsibility.
Hopefully, the efforts
at Dundonald will
inspire others to
investigate how they
can move towards
zero waste to
landfill.”
Steve Isaac
The R&A
“The commitment
and teamwork from
all the staff through
the years has been
tremendous. All staff
training has been
received in a positive
manner and played
an integral part in
getting them on
board.”
The management team is committed to
continuous improvement in its environmental
performance. This was demonstrated in 2007
when the goal of Dundonald Links becoming a
zero waste to landfill business was established
and shared company-wide as part of its
environmental policy.
While communicating an environmental policy
is a vital first step in making improvements,
Dundonald followed this up with actions to
maintain momentum and achieve results.
Engaging staff in the zero waste challenge
With the backing and support of senior
management, the environmental policy was
given life when a Green Team was formed
comprising people from several departments
and a Waste Marshall. The team was tasked
with introducing a waste prevention and
reduction system to provide an effective means
of monitoring and measuring waste generation,
which enabled a benchmark to be set against
which future progress could be compared.
Fully engaged in the zero waste challenge,
the Green Team held training sessions with
all staff to raise awareness of the company’s
environmental policy and the zero waste to
landfill goal. New policies and procedures were
also written into staff employment contracts
and induction programmes. Notice boards and
the company’s intranet were used to keep staff
motivated by reporting progress towards targets.
The team also engaged with suppliers to
ensure they understood Dundonald Links’
environmental policy and could play their part
by reducing the amount of packaging they used
in goods supplied to the site.
Guy Redford
Director of Golf,
Dundonald Links.
All of this provided Dundonald Links with a very
strong and focused foundation from which it
could implement practical actions to achieve its
aims. These actions included:
Finding new opportunities to reuse materials
As with all golf courses, Dundonald Links
has a requirement for landscaping materials.
Previously, a lot of this was bought in.
However, all waste from the greens (e.g.
turf and soil) is now stored on site. It is later
screened and used on the golf course. Three
years of green waste created 3,000 tonnes
of topsoil, saving £43,500 through avoided
purchase costs.
Realising the value of waste materials
A skip was provided for broken machinery and
other metal parts. This cost £130 a month to
dispose of. However, by liaising with a scrap
metal dealer, it was discovered that the waste
metal could be sold. This resulted in a modest
revenue stream and avoided the monthly
standing charge.
Improving processes to become more
resource efficient
Dundonald Links provided drinking water to
staff in plastic bottles. Not only did the bottles
create a potential litter problem, but they
added to waste quantities and disposal costs.
By installing a water cooler, this waste stream
was prevented and saved the company £785/
year in the purchase costs of the water alone.
Soon afterwards, it was decided to prevent
even more waste by not supplying plastic cups
and cutlery. This saved a further £400/year.
Results
In 2007, four 1,100-litre bins were emptied
each week. By preventing some waste
streams, selling some and recycling the
remainder, Dundonald Links has successfully
reduced the capacity of its landfill collections
by half each year since that time and achieved
no waste to landfill status in 2012. Now,
waste streams for recycling are still collected,
but this costs just 40% of the original waste
disposal bill.
In 2011, the Club won the Best Environmental
Performance Award at the Ayrshire Business
Awards and in 2012 was recognised for
achieving Zero Waste to Landfill status.
Zero Waste Scotland
Ground Floor, Moray House, Forthside Way,
Stirling, FK8 1QZ.
E-mail: helpline @zerowastescotland.org.uk
Helpline freephone 0808 100 2040
www.zerowastescotland.org.uk
First published November 2012
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