Abstract

Today’s shrinking product lifecycles and accelerated product-to-market launches are placing unprecedented"br" pressures on the retail sector to deal with a surfeit of goods and end-of-life products. In response, the EU has"br" enacted a considerable body of environmental legislation that place responsibility on retailers, producers and"br" distributors for the collection, treatment and recovery of end-of-life materials. Due to the complexities of materialspecific"br" collections, many retailers outsource them to specialised waste contractors resulting in considerable"br" variation in contractual, business and operational practices and complex waste logistics networks. This paper aims"br" to identify the potential logistics and environmental impacts that could arise from the use of a traditional urban"br" consolidation centre in Southampton UK as an inspection, treatment and consolidation platform for mixed,"br" recycling and hazardous wastes produced by 92 retailers operating within the city’s main urban shopping centre.