Waste management is a critical consideration for any business, but it doesn’t get as much attention as it should. While many companies are aware of the importance of recycling in combating the effects of climate change, that’s not really the case when it comes to waste management because only a few businesses think about how this aspect affects almost all aspects of their operations.
For those working with limited time, resources, and space, it’s easy to understand why waste hasn’t been a priority, but now that the pressure on natural resources is getting stronger and stronger, regulations around waste disposal are changing for businesses, thus requiring them to implement the best waste management practices.
Plenty of evidence shows that a proactive waste management strategy can benefit your business in ways you may not have even imagined, such as increasing market share and stealing a march on competitors, boosting efficiency, and reducing procurement costs. On the flip side, an inefficient waste management program hurts your business’s bottom line, causing excessive downtime that ends up costing your venture money and time, two of your biggest assets that you cannot afford to lose.
Furthermore, not effectively addressing waste can affect your business’s capacity to handle massive volumes of materials, leading to a struggle to keep up with the waste generation rate during times of massive production. Ultimately, the way your business handles waste has a huge impact on your public image and reputation. So, if you want to stay ahead of competitors and position your business as sustainable, keep reading because we will explore below some of the best practices you can implement to achieve this goal.
Understand How Much Waste your Business Generates
Waste management starts with getting clear about the waste that your business generates. It’s essential to conduct a detailed waste audit to determine the quantities and types of the waste produced in your company within a specific timeframe, measuring how much waste is recycled and how much is thrown out, as this knowledge will form the foundation for developing targeted strategies to reduce waste generation. While conducting an audit can seem complex, you can break down the process into a few simple steps to make it easier to handle:
- Set a date and find a few volunteers willing to form a team for the waste audit;
- Select your waste categories (these can be glass, paper, cardboard, food waste, plastic bottles, and so on);
- Stock up on supplies, such as an open area where you can sort the trash, tongs for volunteers, clipboards where you can record the findings, and labeled boxes to sort each category of waste;
- Sort your garbage. Gather the trash from your building and label each bag with the name of the department where you got it from. Once you do this, compare all the garbage to see how much is thrown out weekly.
- Evaluate the results. Once you’ve recorded the weights, you can use the information to conduct a waste stream analysis.
Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
Reduce, reuse, recycle, or the three R’s, represent a strategic approach to proper waste management, helping to considerably reduce the amount of waste businesses generate.
And there’s nothing complicated about it, as it means to:
- Decrease the amount of waste your business generates. This can involve renting or borrowing items instead of purchasing them, using reusable instead of disposable items, going paperless, and buying upgradeable computers.
- Reuse items as much as possible before you replace them. This can look different based on the type of business you’re running—for instance, an office-based venture can turn waste paper into notepaper, refill ink-jet cartridges and toner, and opt for durable mugs, cups, cutlery, and glasses instead of disposable alternatives.
- Recycle items whenever you have the chance to do so. For example, you can recycle materials like glass, plastics, and food scraps, to name a few. Using machines for baling plastic is also an excellent idea that many businesses consider, because such equipment allows managing plastic waste successfully, turning it into recyclable bales.
Embrace Circular Economy Practices
A circular business model aims to create and retain more value from its resources by slowing down the demand for new materials and products, reducing the flow of products and materials, and preventing waste generation.
Embracing this model can potentially turn waste into wealth – and not in the metaphorical sense- as it provides businesses with incredible benefits, such as cost savings, a more robust brand image and innovation, facilitating the shift towards a more resilient future. Some ways businesses can embrace circular economy is to extend the useful life of products, compost organic waste, and opt for reusable and returnable packaging to avoid unnecessary waste. Upcycling is another excellent way a company can adopt a circular economy, and it refers to converting discarded products or materials into products that offer greater usefulness and value. For instance, a business could turn old tires into creative furniture or flowerpots – these are creative and fantastic ways to give new life to materials instead of throwing them away.
Educate Employees
To succeed with your waste management initiatives, it’s also essential to involve employees. With the results you’ve generated on your waste audit, you can create an education plan that addresses the challenges your team currently faces, as well as their needs, ensuring this plan includes a consistent and clear message that illustrates the benefits of recycling and waste management and the responsibilities of your employees.
However, if you want them to understand waste management properly and follow policies and procedures, you must provide them with the right training and support. Organize training sessions that cover waste management fundamentals, like types of waste, disposal methods, waste hierarchy, and so on, and offer visible labels and signs to indicate how waste bins and containers should be used. Finally, incentives can be very helpful to encourage employees who are committed to sustainability to keep demonstrating waste management practices.
The Bottom Line
Waste management is indeed a responsibility, but at the same time, it’s an opportunity that your business should leverage to enhance its reputation and bottom line. By embracing sustainability and implementing best practices, your venture can play its part in creating a more responsible future.