RN October07Karen Meenan’s Top Tips ●
be clearly marked with store details, everything except the bar code) in order for credits to be refunded to and the rest of the magazine the retailer. (i.e. everything but the front It seems that some stores are cover) became the seeing full copy returns as a solution responsibility of the retailer to to the waste problem but are not dispose of. In the past, these properly identifying the returns went straight to landfill and process. Boxes of magazines and bales more recently, they have been of unsold newspapers are returned to returned to recycling plants by both Eason and Newspread with no placing these unsolds directly means of identification, no agent into a recycling bin. These bins number and without store name or are expensive, however, and address. As much as €400 per box is you also need to factor in the being returned to these distributors time and wage costs involved with no means of them giving you with ‘topping’ the papers and credit for these unsolds. ‘stripping’ the magazines. Full copy returns means that you return the full copy of The Black Bin unsold newspapers and the full Ten years ago, almost everything copy of unsold magazines – went into the skip or was taken by a High grade paper waste is very valuable without removing the bar codes or man with a trailer for dumping. Now to the recycling community. front covers. Full copy returns are we have facilities to recycle not a magic solution, however, and cardboard, plastic, newspapers, while they are very much welcomed magazines, high grade office waste With these two valuable products by retailers as an efficient solution to and steel… so what is actually going packed together and separated from the newspaper bin, full copy returns into the black bin? the rest of your waste, you will find must be managed and proper records Deli and food waste seems to be that you will be able to part with kept by the person sending back the last mountain to climb for these … for a sum! unsolds, in order for you to ensure retailers in order to provide a full that you are receiving full credits for recycling solution and put an end to Unsold Magazines and unsolds. the black bin. There has been much Newspapers Unfortunately, there have been talk of composting, wormeries and Not so very long ago, unsold many cases in Dublin recently where other environmentally sound ways to newspapers and magazines used to go retailers operating a full copy returns process deli waste. The most efficient straight into a skip or black bin. Then system (now the standard way of deli waste solution I have encountered about seven or eight years ago, returning unsolds) are not getting has just been installed in a ground Indaver and others provided a proper unsolds credits. This is due breaking SuperValu store in Granard, newspaper/magazine recycling bin mainly to staff not fully Co. Longford, operated by Canice which saved on black bin charges. understanding that all returns must Dunphy, which uses the Jora 5100 Practically all waste contractors offer a news bin facility at reduced costs from the standard black bin charges. We have moved on from there and now full copy returns are accepted by major distributors Eason and Newspread. In the past, in order to claim that a newspaper was not sold in your store, you only had to provide a bar code (without a staple through it!) to prove that this issue was not sold and you were issued with a credit for this unsold on your next invoice. Magazines were treated in a similar fashion: you only had to return the front cover (or in cases, the back cover if the bar code was on the back) in order to claim a credit for an unsold magazine. The rest of the newspaper (i.e. Waste is a serious issue, and a cost concern, for anybody in the retail trade.
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