All You Need To Know About Improving Waste Management in Your New Business

Auditing a business’s waste management is an important step in the process of reducing and recycling waste. For example, you can conduct a physical audit of your waste bins to determine how much waste is being generated. You can also conduct an inventory audit by counting all the items that are thrown away each day, week, or month. Other types of audits include:

a. Quantifying your current amount of food and beverage wastage

b. Monitoring how much paper and cardboard you throw away per week

c. Identifying where you dispose of non-recyclable materials

There are many ways that businesses can improve their waste management practices. But it's not something you can accomplish overnight. Here are some tips to get your business on the right track.

Steps to develop a better waste management plan for your business:

1. Measure business waste

To get started, you first need to measure the amount of waste your business produces. The best way to do this is with a waste audit, which can be carried out either by an outside professional or in-house staff. Your goal with any waste audit is to determine:

a. What types and quantities of materials are being discarded.

b. Where they’re coming from

c. How they’re estimated (for example, if they have been weighed or otherwise measured)

Once that data has been collected, you can begin making improvements in order to decrease your overall waste management costs and improve efficiency.

2. Reduce waste going to landfill

A small business that produces a large amount of waste can be an environmental hazard and cost the business money in fees. The first step is to reduce the amount of waste going to landfills, and here's how to do it:

a. Stop using disposable cups, plates, and cutlery at meetings. Instead, use reusable items like mugs, glasses, and plates.

b. Use paper towels made from recycled materials instead of disposable ones.

c. Try using recycling bins for mixed plastic, glass, and paper rather than sending them all to landfills.

3. Identify local collectors of recyclable materials.

A collector is a person or business that collects and transports recyclable materials for resale. Collectors can be found in any city, town, or village, and you may not realize how many are around until you start looking. The first step to identifying collectors is finding out what materials they accept. Most collectors only accept materials that have been separated into different categories (e.g., paper, glass, and plastic), with the exception of some larger recycling centers that accept everything in one bin.

You'll also want to find out if there are any restrictions on what type of material can be collected from your home or business premises. Some collectors only collect clean items like empty containers, while others will take whatever comes their way as long as it's safely packed away (for example: wrapped in cardboard).

Once you've gotten all this information down on paper (or more likely onto your phone), it's time to go out into the world armed with knowledge about where else you can recycle those bottles, cans, and the other waste from your business! 

4. Understand waste and recycling collection contracts

Always read your waste management contract. It’s important to understand the obligations and requirements of your waste management company before signing a contract with them. Here are some things to look for:

When you are signing up for services, ask how much waste is collected each week or month, how long it takes for one bag of trash to be collected, and what days they will come by (some companies offer same-day service). These types of questions can help ensure that you are getting sufficient service at a reasonable cost.

Check whether the contract allows any flexibility in case there is an increase in business volume or extra waste that needs to be removed from your office space due to construction projects happening nearby. Such circumstances may require additional resources from your provider but should not result in extra charges if they are accounted for properly during negotiations beforehand.

5. Implement material collection systems at business premises – Get waste management equipment

To start, you need to ensure that you have a good collection system. This will help you with the separation of the waste and then determine how much each type of waste costs. The two main types of equipment are:

Screens - these are used to screen out small materials that are not suitable for recycling or reuse (e.g., plastic bags, food scraps)

Separators - these separate large materials into different groups according to their properties (e.g., cardboard, paper), which can then be recycled accordingly (cardboard is usually recycled into new boxes).

You can purchase these from any local hardware store or online retailer like Amazon, but make sure you get one that fits your needs perfectly before buying it! It's worth noting that some businesses prefer renting over buying because it allows them more flexibility when they need something in particular out of their business space; however, this option may cost slightly more than purchasing something outright, so keep this in mind when making decisions about what would work best for your company!

Strategies for effective waste management at your business:

1. Composting

It’s a popular trend for businesses to use composting as an alternative method to organic waste disposal. There are many reasons why companies should consider composting their food waste, including the following:

a. It’s better for the environment. Composting is a great way to reduce the amount of organic material sent to landfills, which can be harmful for the environment and lead to issues like water pollution.

b. It provides nutrients for plants and soil. The process of breaking down organic material through decomposition helps create rich soil that you can use in gardens or landscaping projects. This improves biodiversity by providing more habitat for animals and insects in addition to making it easier for plants to grow near your business location!

2. Recycling

Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. This process reduces the consumption of fresh raw materials, such as glass, stone, metal, or plastic. 

Recycling is a key component of waste reduction and is the third component of the "Reduce-Reuse-Recycle" waste management hierarchy. Recycling benefits the environment by conserving resources that would otherwise be consumed in landfills or other places not suitable for human habitation; it may also have financial benefits for individuals or local governments.

3. Packaging

Packaging is a huge contributor to waste, and it's one that you can control. The next time you're considering buying something, consider whether it comes in an unnecessary amount of packaging. 

Also, ask yourself if there's a way for your business to reduce packaging by purchasing unpackaged goods that are already cleaned and prepared for sale—this could include frozen vegetables or produce sold at farmers markets, for example.

It would help if you also considered looking at the shipments, supplies, and everything that comes inside your business. Excessive packaging on these products can increase the amount of waste you produce every year.

4. Eliminate bottled water

If you're a business owner, that's probably not what you want to hear. But it's true: bottled water increases costs in ways you may not have considered before. Did you know that more than 20 billion plastic bottles are thrown away every year? And this number is expected to increase by over 6% annually as more people consume bottled water. 

This means more resources being used to produce and transport those bottles, which are often made from petroleum-based plastics that aren't biodegradable, and more waste ending up in landfills. Plus, there's also an environmental impact when they're discarded after use: they can take hundreds of years to decompose once they reach landfills. 

5. Going Paperless

Going paperless is one of the easiest ways to reduce the amount of waste you produce. By eliminating paper from your business, you will save time, money, and trees. In addition to these benefits, going paperless can help you achieve other goals, such as reducing carbon footprint and waste management costs.

Going paperless is a win-win for everyone involved: businesses like it because it saves them money, and planet Earth likes it because it reduces pollution levels while reducing landfill waste by cutting down on the number of boxes sent out each year. Try to make your records digital and use applications on your smartphone and PC when you want to note down anything new. 

6. Engage your employees

Employees are the most important asset of any business. They are your customers, your brand and culture creators, product/service designers, and customer experience designers.

Creating a waste management program that works for your business begins with engaging your employees to act as stewards of sustainability by reducing waste at the source (i.e., before it becomes waste), recycling, composting, or donating what can't be reduced or reused. 

Your employees' actions will set an example for others in the office, including visitors from other departments who might want to know more about what they're doing with their lunch boxes every day—and who knows? Maybe they'll take up the cause themselves!

Author Bio: Erich Lawson is passionate about saving the environment through effective recycling techniques and modern innovations. He works with Compactor Management Company and writes on a variety of topics related to recycling, including tips and advice on how balers, compactors and shredders can be used to reduce industrial waste. He loves helping businesses understand how to lower their monthly garbage bills and increase revenue from recycling.