6 Useful Tips For Managing and Reducing Waste In Commercial Buildings
Everything generates waste. From small cabins in the woods to our private homes to businesses and whole office buildings, everything makes waste and ends up in a landfill. And as more and more people are urging for more sustainability in the modern world, it has become essential to consider the management and reduction of waste on our properties. Not only does considering these issues help your company go green, but it can also help save money, conserve resources, and create a better work environment for everyone, so let us get started with six tips on managing and reducing all the waste in your building.
Create a Team
First of all, you need a team to tackle this issue if it does not already exist. They should set goals and implement a tracking system for the waste. If you are in a bigger company, it should prove valuable to put together a team of people from all levels and ranks within it, so that the goals are attainable for the whole company.
Tracking the Waste
Tracking and assessing the generated waste is essential to reducing and managing it all. By tracking the waste that gets hauled away, you will be able to assess where the most waste is being contributed and where you are spending the most money. Use larger dumpsters if you are generating more waste than usual, or just rent a 4-yard dumpster in Newport if you are in Virginia, for when there is an especially busy occasion or the like. It also helps to separate the different types of waste by using different containers, for example, and making sure they are clearly color-coded or have symbols illustrating what waste goes where.
Budget
Addressing your spending is another factor in waste management. Examine your removal costs and whether they can be lowered. Maybe you’re spending a lot on removing all the paper waste when a recycling program might be easy and cheap to implement. Communicate with other local businesses about cheaper and more effective means of waste removal.
Reducing the Waste
To make the whole ordeal more manageable, the company must reduce the waste it generates altogether. This would be difficult, but if you are already tracking the waste as suggested, then it is actually a lot simpler than it may seem at first. Maybe there is a lot of printer paper being thrown away. Turn to the higher-ups in your company, and get them to consider going paperless, or perhaps implement a recycling plan for the whole company. Encourage the employees to bring their lunches in reusable containers to dramatically decrease the day-to-day waste being generated. One fantastic way to incentivize this is by offering free, reusable bottles and bags.
Reuse As Much As Possible
Now that the first steps in reducing your general waste have been taken, we can begin to plan what to reuse. By offering the employees free, reusable water bottles and bags, we will not only see a drastic decrease in plastic waste, but also the potential for free marketing. Also, consider donating unused products or leftovers to local charities or organizations. Many of them will even pick up all of it at no cost to you, so you are not only getting a free way of getting rid of the waste but also potentially helping people in need.
Recycle
Usually the most discussed method of waste management, recycling is one of the best ways of not only getting rid of the already existing waste but also preventing more waste in the future. It can prevent literally tons of waste from ending up in landfills each year and is an absolutely essential way of creating new and usable materials. It saves you money and energy and dramatically increases your company’s sustainability. When purchasing materials for the company, take a look at whether they are recyclable or not. Moreover, one of the largest environmental advantages of recycling is the conservation of natural resources and energy, as well as the reduction of pollution that is created when raw materials are utilized to make a new product.
Even when ignoring the environmental benefits of being more careful with waste, saving money, and in general, aiming for a more sustainable workspace will lead to a more positive, friendly, and productive atmosphere, the benefits of which will begin to blossom in time. Your company will be viewed with more goodwill by the public, and other companies will learn from the example you have set.
