Waste is an almost inevitable part of running a business. That’s despite the fact it wreaks havoc on the environment and can even reduce your profits. By knowing how to properly manage your business waste, you can counteract both of those side effects.
That begs the question as to how you can actually do that. You don’t need to completely overhaul all of your practices, though.
This can often seem like it’s a complicated process, and that you’ll have to make quite a few changes. As much as it seems that way, it doesn’t have to be. It’s just a matter of taking a few particular steps, and you should be good to go.
What is Business Waste?
Before taking a look, it’s worth looking at what business waste actually is first. It can seem like a vague term that’s relatively tricky to nail down. It can best be described as materials, supplies, and products that your company doesn’t end up using as you operate.
It ends up being thrown out, and most of this waste ends up in a landfill. It harms the environment that way, and you would’ve wasted money on those supplies. By managing your business waste, you’ll reduce your impact on the environment and even increase your profit margins long-term.
That’s not to say all business waste is the same, though. In fact, there are a few types of business waste your company could create, and you could have some of them to varying extents. These are:
- Food waste
- General waste
- Glass waste
- Dry mixed recycling
- Secure document shredding
- Washroom waste
- Clinical waste
- Hazardous waste
Now everyone’s on the same page about what business waste is, it’s time to look at what you can do about it. You’ll want to cut down on it to improve your profit margins and have less of an impact on the environment. As complicated as it seems, trying to manage your business waste doesn’t need to be difficult.
Quite the opposite. Five particular steps could help quite a bit, and they’re more than worth diving into. They could help you reduce your business waste a lot more than you’d expect.
Manage Your Business Waste: 5 Great Ways
- Know How Much Business Waste You Have
Before you can start to reduce and manage your business waste, it’s worth knowing how much of it you create in the first place. It puts you in a good position going forward.
With this, you’re in a great position to figure out how that waste is being created and how you can reduce it. If you’re creating waste because you’re using noticeably more materials than you need, for example, then you could decide to buy fewer materials.
It’ll also give you a baseline to manage your waste management efforts once you’re making changes.
- Avoid Going to Landfills
If you send your business waste to a landfill, then it’ll be a relatively expensive process. It’s also what does the most damage to the environment, so it’s worth avoiding.
Thankfully, there are more than a few ways you can reduce the amount of your waste that goes to a landfill. Recycling your waste whenever possible is a notable part of this, and it’s worth putting the time and effort into. It could also be worth reducing your waste whenever you can.
Then there’s the likes of donating unused supplies or products to clients, companies, or even charities. It’ll reduce the overall impact your business waste has on the environment.
- Work With Waste Removal Companies
No matter how much you try to reduce your business waste, you’ll still have some of it to deal with at the end of the day.
You’ll need a way to get rid of this, and that’s where waste hauler companies come into play. By working with the right one, you’ll find a sustainable way to get rid of your waste. You shouldn’t even need to pay too much for the privilege.
Look into how they’ll help dispose of this waste, as well as the quality of service they offer.
- Understand Your Contracts
Speaking of working with haulers, it’s always worth making sure you properly understand the contracts you have in place with them. They’ll be vital for going forward.
This doesn’t just affect the waste haulers you’re entering agreements with. Your suppliers could also be a part of this, especially if there are any clauses outlining the proper disposal of waste. Take the time to read through each of your contracts to understand what needs to be done with any waste.
In some cases, for example, unused supplies could be sent back to the supplier and put to use with another company.
- Have Material Collection On-Site
To properly get rid of any waste your business makes, you’ll need to collect it first. This is where some companies can run into some complications.
With the various types of waste your business could have, you mightn’t be sure how to do that. Implement the right waste material collection on-site for each of the types of business waste you create. Different types of waste bins can be a great start to this, as long as your waste is separated properly.
After that, it’s a matter of disposing of these bins in the right way.
Manage Your Business Waste: Wrapping Up
Once you can manage your business waste, you’ll see more than a few benefits. You’ll have less of an impact on the environment, and you could even increase your profit margins long-term. There’s no reason not to put the time and effort into it.
While it takes time and effort, it doesn’t need to be as complicated as you could think. With the right steps, there’ll be nothing to worry about.
Some of these can help you a lot more than you’d think, and they’ll reduce your business waste quite a bit. You’ll see this relatively quickly, and the results will speak for themselves, especially when you stay consistent with it.