Best Practices And Solutions For Businesses In Sustainable Waste Management 🌏

by Ian Guenn Tayao

Environment, Recycling, Waste Management 0

Sustainable Waste Management 🌏: Although recycling is very much needed nowadays, it is not the sole solution to sustainability. There are more practices to be implemented to achieve this. And, for that, businesses need to instil need sustainable waste management in their operations. Businesses, in particular, should go out of their way even just a tad bit and do something to contribute to a more circular economy.

What are the steps needed to do this? What are the best practices and solutions? We will discuss it here in this blog. Read on to learn more.

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A bit about Waster

Before I discuss the best sustainable waste management solutions and practices, let me share with you more information about Waster.

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A sustainable waste management guide

Each and every single day, we generate more waste, more so than the other day. Recycling solutions have already been implemented in almost all parts of the world in order to have a more circular economy.

But, that is not enough. If you own a business, you should look to implement a simple, yet effective, sustainable waste management practice in your office or establishment. This will ensure that your business will:

reduce its environmental impact,
cut its costs to operate,
contribute to a more circular economy, and
improve its brand, thereby, generating more customers.

Implementing sustainable waste management is easier said than done. There are a number of steps businesses should do to achieve this. But, I can confidently say to you that it is not impossible. Businesses have to do something first before implementing solutions. We will discuss it in the next section.

Do a waste audit, before anything else

Do you have an idea what a waste audit is? A waste audit is a method to determine a business’s waste stream. It will show you what type of trash you produce each week. Additionally, it will also show you the quantity of trash you produce. Is it few or many? Is it manageable?

Completing a waste audit gives you more than just valuable information, it gives you a clear view of what your sustainable waste management solution and practice should be like.

It tells you what you should and should not spend more on, therefore saving money. Additionally, it also determines what the most effective sustainable waste management practices are.

Sustainable waste management practices and solutions suggestions

Now that you have a waste audit, it is time to implement waste management practices and solutions. Here are 3 suggestions that you can do:

1. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Obviously, the 3 Rs are still the best sustainable waste management practices businesses can implement in their operations.

And, you should also take note of their arrangement. Reducing and reusing are the first priority, while recycling is done if the former two are not applicable.

Reduce; only use things that you need in the business. For example, only buy the amount your business needs, may it be toiletry, food, or water. As much as possible, you should not buy excess necessities in bulk. Additionally, you can also buy tools and equipment that will last you a long time to not waste resources.

Reuse; replace all of your single-use items and impose the reusable ones. For example, encourage your employees to bring their own Tupperware instead of buying disposable plates. This also applies to utensils and coffee cups. Ask your employees to bring their own utensils and cups instead of disposable ones.

Recycle; this should be applied if you still generate a significant amount of waste due to not implementing the practices stated above. Make sure all recyclables go into the commingled recycling bin or their designated recycling bins if not applicable to the former. By doing this, you ensure energy saving, waste diversion from landfills and incinerators, and less usage of natural resources.

This is a good start to implementing a sustainable waste management solution and practices.

2. “Paperless office”

The first solution businesses can do is to reduce their paper use. It is widely known that paper – along with ink – is the biggest waste generated in businesses.

You can cut down the amount of paper you use by going “paperless”. If you have read our blog on document destruction services, you can see the benefits of cutting down on paper. You can do so by doing certain, not-so-important documents digitally, instead. This does not apply to official documents (e.g., documents issued by the government or important documents issued by the business itself), as they still need to be physically produced.

But still, you can implement measures to reduce the usage of paper.

3. Check the item/product before throwing it in the trash

Encourage your employees to check the item/product before throwing it in the trash. It might either be reusable or recyclable, so do not forget to check it before anything else. More often than not, some throw items in the trash not knowing their reusability or recyclability.

Failure to do so will increase your business’s environmental impact.

Furthermore, if there are things that you do not need anymore in your business, you can donate them, instead. It can come with benefits such as tax incentives. Additionally, it can also improve your brand; your customers will trust you more with your sustainable waste management practices and solutions.

This will also cut your costs, as the heavier your bin is, the more you will be charged.

Sustainable waste management: conclusion

There are a lot of other things you can do to have sustainable waste management solutions for your office. By looking up the internet, consulting waste management companies like Waster, or through other means, expect to have effective sustainable waste management practices sooner rather than later.