Waste Management Adelaide: one thing that is always clear when you speak to Adelaide people is how proud they are of the pristine environment in South Australia and their environmental commitment. The values of a great place to live are even more clear to people in 2022 following the terrible years of 2020 and 2021!


>>Download Now:ย Free PDF Business Owners Guide To General Waste Bin Services


Adelaide consistently wins awards for its environmental focus and high quality of life. This, of course, goes hand in hand with a real focus on recycling and the environment. I think no one can argue that Adelaide and South Australia are one of the best places to live in the world!

Businesses have as much, if not more, role to play in this recycling and environmental focus as residents. The great news is that there are many innovative waste management solutions in Adelaide available for small and medium businesses in the city.

With some simple steps, your Adelaide-based business can boost its recycling and significantly reduce your garbage disposal costs.

 

Did you know that Adelaide is the greenest big city in Australia?

Mr Waster was reading an interesting article recently that ranks Adelaide as the greenest large city in Australia.

Australia is famous for having clean and liveable big cities – and nearly every state capital regularly scores highly on international indices.

So, coming number one in Australia is no mean feat!

 

A little bit about how Waster can help your small business with waste services and recycling

Waster provides low-cost and flexible (i.e., 30-day agreements and an end to lock-in contracts and unexpected roll-over clauses) waste, rubbish truck and recycling services to small and medium businesses throughout Australia and of course for waste management Adelaide customers.

We are different from pretty much any other recycling or waste management provider in Australia. We focus more on small and medium customers, so we understand the challenges you face and the objectives you have.

Moreover, we have a real focus on education and helping customers boost their recycling. For reference, take a look at our recycling flowcharts for businesses such as health and beauty and office-based businesses.

No matter what your business type, we can increase your recycling and reduce your ongoing waste management costs in Adelaide.

You can check prices, compare services and book your collections online through our waste portal now. Simply click the blue banners at the top or bottom of this page.

 

Waste management Adelaide: why Adelaide is the greenest big city in Australia

Adelaide has long had progressive environmental projects in place such as the energy from waste facility at ResourceCo and money back on recycling projects.

The Guardian article (linked here) also accredits Adelaide as the strongest environmental city nationally. We quote from the article below:

“Last year, Adelaide city council and the government of South Australia announced that they were working in partnership to make the state capital the โ€œworldโ€™s first carbon-neutral cityโ€ (or at least by 2025). According to a spokesman, Adelaide City Council allocates 1% of total rates to its Climate Change Action Initiatives Fund annually. In 2015/16 this is $932,000.

waste management adelaide commercial

“An action plan is in the works for later this year, but it is hoped the program will bring $10bn of low-carbon investment to the state and eradicate nearly a million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions every year.

“The state has also committed to match-fund the cityโ€™s incentives scheme so that all building owners and tenants installing energy-efficient devices could claim back some of the costs, ranging from $120 for energy-monitoring systems to $5000 for solar panels and energy storage systems.

“One of the things I noticed while in Paris at COP21 in December 2015, was the uniqueness of the partnership we have here in Adelaide between the city council and the state government,โ€ says Adelaideโ€™s lord mayor, Martin Haese.”

Zerowaste SA has published some great resources to reduce waste.

YouTube video

 

What to know about waste management in Adelaide

The State Government has steadily increased the waste levy on dumping general waste at landfill in South Australia. The cost to dispose of at landfill has really increased, with the levy (which composes only of gate rates) from $110+GST at the time of writing in January 2022 to $143+GST per tonne on 1st Jan.

This increase of $33+GST per tonne over two years could impact your commercial bin pickup prices significantly. For example, a cafe with an average weight of 100kg per cubic metre could see price increases of c. $2.00+GST per pickup for a 660-litre general waste bin.

If you have a larger bin, such as a front lift bin as below, your cost will, of course, increaseย at a higher rate.

adelaide waste management

 

Conclusion

Adelaide is rightly proud of being the number one city in Australia for recycling.

This is due to having a population concerned about the environment which results in having waste collections and systems in place in the city. Being surrounded by wonderful natural areas such as the Adelaide Hills, the wine regions or Kangaroo Island may influence people to protect their environment more.

Contact Waster to discuss how your business can boost recycling and save money at the same time.

It is more vital than ever in 2022 and onwards, with costs increasing and the economy being more competitive than ever, especially as the Government support related to COVID decreases and ends. Achieving very low rates of waste going to landfill is no easy challenge and takes participation from all stakeholders in a community.

If you run a business, Waster can help you with bin hire from wheelie bins to large skip bins. Our commercial waste collection and recycling will ensure you maximise resource recovery. Contact us for all info on waste management solutions and waste bins to suit every business.

 

Rubbish removal Adelaide

Just when you thought you got through the annual waste management cost increases, the South Australia EPA announced a surprise price increase for the disposal of rubbish at landfill in Adelaide. You can find a link to a comprehensive summary of the cost increase on the South Australia EPA page here. You can also access useful information through our waste resources page.

Note: You can check out some of the other articles we have posted on arranging high-quality waste services in Adelaide recently such as waste collection Adelaide. You can also see articles we have published on rubbish removal in Perth, rubbish removal in Melbourne, rubbish removal in Brisbaneย and why the weight of rubbish matters.

 

Rubbish removal Adelaide: surprise levy increase

The South Australia waste levy for disposal of waste at landfill has increased from $62.00 a tonne in metro Adelaide during 2016/2017 to $143.00 from 1st Jan 2021, representing an increase of almost over 100% in just a couple of years.

There is no doubt that this increase will represent a real issue for many struggling businesses in the current economic climate of energy and other input cost inflation.

 

cheap rubbish removal adelaide

 

The State official press release key highlights regarding the levy are:

  • The levy will increase in stages from $62 to $103 a tonne by 2019/20, raising an additional $64 million over the four years.

 

  • ย All extra funding received will be reinvested into waste, environmental and climate change programs including funding initiatives to help recycle waste.

 

  • Putting a higher price on waste will incentivise councils and industry to dump less in landfill and expand and create new industries in processing and reuse, furthering South Australiaโ€™s reputation as the nation’s leading recycler.

 

  • The Metropolitan Solid Waste Levy will increase from $62 per tonne on 1 July 2016 to $76 on 1 September 2016, $87 in 2017-18, $100 in 2018-19 and $103 in 2019-20. The solid waste levy in non-metropolitan areas is half the metropolitan levy.

 

Have you already had an Adelaide rubbish removal up-rate letter?

The majority of waste management customers in Adelaide will already have received an up-rate letter from their waste collection and recycling supplier.

It is never fun to receive a letter that your prices are increasing, especially at the start of a new financial year as your plans for financial success often depend on controlling costs. This new levy increase means that many businesses should expect further price increases in the months ahead and continuing large jumps in the years ahead.

To provide an estimate of how the levy increase has impacted the bottom line of an average customer, we take the example of a cafe business with a 3m General Waste bin collected 3 times a week.

In this instance, the customer could expect a cost increase of c. $23.40 per bin collected or an annual cost impact of $3,650. This is just due to the increase between 30 June 2016 and 1 Jan 2020.ย  Of course, there will likely be other increases in that time due to CPI and other cost inputs.

adelaide rubbish removal commercial services

 

What steps can a business take to minimise the cost impact?

One should expect Increasing costs from disposing of general waste. Why? Answer: because State governments place more emphasis on recycling and the environment (and use waste levies as a means to raise revenue).

Steps that Waster would suggest to small and medium include starting by drawing up a waste management plan. Once you have a plan in place you can pursue efforts to optimise your selection of wheelie bin sizes and boost efforts to increase recycling waste.

We have written articles in recent months covering opportunities to boost recycling and hence avoid the waste levy impact. I suppose this is what the State Government is aiming to achieve after all!

You can look at our articles to give you recycling and cost-reducing ideas under organic waste solutions, grease trap cleaning, commingled recycling or free cardboard recycling.ย You may even be able to achieve government rebates for recycling in certain areas.

 

Can Waster help your business reduce Adelaide rubbish removal costs?

Waster can help your business by offering flexible, low-cost waste collection services that will keep any cost increases to a minimum.

You really should check our costs in our online waste shop just to see if you are getting good value under your current agreement. How easy is it to check prices; well it is really easy, to be honest. All you have to do is check in our online shop.

Waster will be reviewing our rubbish removal Adelaide costs over the next few weeks to account for the recent levy impact. We will keep you updated in this regard.

Note: we updated our rates reflecting this surprise change in our waste bins Adelaide article.

 

Adelaide rubbish removal

Our customer service staff take many calls every day and a large proportion are related to one-off rubbish removal in the Adelaide area and quite a high proportion is in relation to cardboard collection.=

In fact, our most clicked blog post on our entire website is this one in relation to arranging cardboard collection: Free cardboard recycling: Can I get free cardboard collection.

Waster offers a revolution in waste management and recycling services for small and medium Australian businesses through flexible 30-day agreements and no hidden extras. This makes us different from other rubbish removal business operators.

We provide rubbish collection services for small businesses as well as services like skip bins in Adelaide, garden waste removals and all recycling.

 

Common tips for Adelaide rubbish removal

In this part of the blog, we run through a number of the most common tips we give to customers when they call about one-off collections.

 

Can you utilise the Council hard rubbish removal service?

It is worth checking if your local council can provide the service free of charge as stated by the Adelaide City Council website Hard waste section:

To improve service flexibility and provide convenience for residents to dispose of hard waste, from 4 January 2016 โ€“ December 2016, Adelaide City Council is trialling a pre-booked at-call hard waste collection service. During the trial, you can book a collection time to suit your needs.

“The fixed date quarterly kerbside hard waste collection service ceases as of 2015 and is superseded with the at-call service on a 12-month trial.”

 

Can I get a free cardboard collection for very small quantities?

Unfortunately in 2022, the answer to this one is pretty much no. Not unless you have very large amounts of baled or compacted clean cardboard from using a compacting or baling machine. You would likely require 20 tonnes plus of baled cardboard to get free collections in 2022.

The international price for recycled cardboard has fallen in recent years due to the global economy and slowing trade.

Cardboard rebates currently are rarely above $50 per tonne in Australia for baled cardboard โ€“ very large amounts. This rebate can help cancel the collection charge.

As small amounts of cardboard only have a weight of say 100kg, the value of that cardboard is about $5.00.

In these instances, a collection cost has to be charged to compensate for the time of a truck and manpower. And, in many instances, we suggest that a client bring the cardboard to a council recycling facility themselves as they will take it for free.

Sometimes, a bit of effort can save you quite a lot of money. Check out our recent blog on grease trap solutions.

 

Conclusion on Adelaide rubbish removal

When arranging waste removal services, knowing a few tips and tricks can save you lots of money. In many cases, waiting for the next council hard rubbish removal service (usually quarterly) can be the best option.

Another great idea is simply putting some rubbish in your ute or trailer and driving to the local dump or transfer centre. Many of these facilities will take recyclables for free and charge a small fee for general waste. The right solution will really depend on your waste needs. We can help with a solution for all types of rubbish from green waste removal to scrap metals.

Of course, if you have other queries, we would be very happy to talk you through your options.

 

Importance of keeping Adelaide clean through waste management

We have covered the ongoing plastic pollution impacting our seas and oceans in recent blogs. When arranging Adelaide rubbish removal, it should always be remembered that we have amazing wildlife in our city area.

“The Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary is one of the gems of metropolitan Adelaide. Located in the Port River and Barker Inlet, the sanctuary is just 20 minutes from the city centre and features a 10,000-year-old mangrove forest. A resident pod of about 30 bottlenose dolphins call the river home, while another 300 visit the area regularly.”

 

Waste collection Adelaide

As a small or medium business operator in metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia, you may be looking to find out how to sustainably save money on your waste and recycling management services (such as rubbish bins Adelaide). Luckily, Waster.com.au can certainly help you with that. We are a waste management company focused exclusively on small and medium companies just like you – so we understand your needs and objectives.

As the state capital of South Australia and the fifth-largest city by population in Australia with c.1.3 million people, Adelaide is certainly a key area for Waster.

Waster is proud to be able to offer a diverse range of waste collection Adelaide services to our customers at great prices and on flexible 30-day contracts. This is a real difference in the Adelaide and South Australia garbage and waste collection market – as most other companies will seek to lock you into long-term contracts with additional fees.

 

Waste collection Adelaide 2022 requirements

With a diverse economy and business base across the Adelaide metro region, waste collection providers must meet the needs of businesses in prominent industries such as; health care and social assistance, retail, defence manufacturing, electronics and general manufacturing.

 

Waste management Adelaide: waste collection Port Adelaide levy information

As in other Australian states, a waste levy is imposed by the State government on the disposal of waste at landfill. You can check up-to-date links to the relevant State information pages through our Waste Resources page on our website.

The waste levy as per the South Australia EPA is currently set at $143 per tonne on all waste disposed of at landfill in metro Adelaide as of July 2021 (and $71.50 per tonne in non-metro Adelaide). These are significant increases in recent years and are acting as a real tax on doing business in Adelaide.

Please note that prices will increase significantly again in 2022.

A portion of the funds collected is transferred to the State Waste to Resources Fund which the Government agency Zero Waste SA uses for its environmental objectives. The imposition of this levy increases the real costs of operation for businesses in Adelaide and makes recycling Adelaide even more important. You can check a recent blog we published on whether it is realistic in 2019 to get free cardboard recycling.

 

Recycling opportunities for business in Adelaide

As an advanced industrial-economic region, you would be correct in expecting Adelaide to have advanced recycling facilities. The ResourceCo facility in Wingfield is one example of that where dry general waste can be turned into alternative fuels and hence displace carbon emissions (check out a video below on this facility).

The theory here is that carbon or methane that would otherwise be emitted by the decaying waste in landfill is now utilised for burning to create energy. We, as a society thus need to utilise less carbon-based fuels to produce the energy required.

 

Arrange Adelaide waste management online

Through Waster you can arrange all your waste bins Adelaide management and recycling services online, our services cover general waste, recycling, sanitary bins services, confidential paper disposal, organics, grease trap service etc. Pretty much all your waste collection needs can be managed in our online shop.

port adelaide waste collection

Our services are all on a 30-day flexible contract basis, where you can cancel at any time and for any reason (or no reason) by simply providing us with 30 days’ written notice. Yes, an email is sufficient.

You should note that our pricing as per the online shop will not be increased on 1st July like many suppliers tend to do. In fact, you may have found your way to this page after receiving notification of a substantial increase in your garbage collection or rubbish removal Adelaide costs.

 

Bin collection Adelaide: where does Waster operate in your city?

Waster provides comprehensive services throughout the Adelaide metro region. The postcodes we service are as follows:

 

Postcodes

5000, 5006, 5007, 5008, 5009, 5010, 5011, 5012, 5013, 5014, 5015, 5016, 5017, 5018, 5019, 5020, 5021, 5022, 5023, 5024, 5025, 5031, 5032, 5033, 5034, 5035, 5037, 5038, 5039, 5040, 5041, 5042, 5043, 5044, 5045, 5046, 5047, 5048, 5049, 5050, 5051, 5052, 5061, 5062, 5063, 5064, 5065, 5066, 5067, 5068, 5069, 5070, 5072, 5073

5074, 5075, 5076, 5081, 5082, 5083, 5084, 5085, 5086, 5087, 5088, 5089, 5090, 5091, 5092, 5093, 5094, 5095, 5096, 5097, 5098, 5106

5107, 5108, 5109, 5110, 5111, 5112, 5113, 5114, 5115, 5116, 5117, 5118, 5120, 5121, 5125, 5126, 5127, 5131, 5132, 5133, 5134, 5136, 5137, 5138, 5140, 5141, 5142, 5144, 5150, 5151, 5152, 5154, 5155, 5156, 5158, 5159, 5160, 5161, 5162, 5163, 5164, 5165, 5166, 5167, 5168, 5169, 5170, 5171, 5173, 5174, 5950.

 

Our service area covers Evanstown and Buckland Park in the north, to Sellicks Beach and Ashburne in the south. Our service area (at the same metro pricing) goes inland to Lenswood.

Please check the postcode listing hereย or contact us if you have any queries.

 

Takeaway on your bin services options

Whether you are a new business seeking low-cost waste collection Adelaide services or an established business seeking an alternative supplier or competitive price quote, Waster is very well-positioned to help your business save money in Financial Year 2019/2020 and beyond.

 

Rubbish collection Adelaide

In the Eagle’s song โ€“ Hotel California, they talk about a place that is easy to enter but hard to get out of, one where it seems like a great idea at the start, but over time may not seem so great for you.

We are not saying that most waste management and recycling contracts for rubbish collection in Adelaide are hard to leave, but they can be a bit tricky sometimes! In this part of the blog, we will cover how Waster agreements are different and why you can relax knowing that the services delivered by Waster are designed to suit your business needs, not the other way around.

It is always good to know your rights when it comes to rubbish bin hire Adelaide terms and conditions – so you can base any decision you make on accurate information. They do say that knowledge is power after all!

 

What does the law say about Adelaide rubbish bin hire?

The law for rubbish Adelaide bin hire services changed significantly in late 2017 when the ACCC ruled on rollover clauses and items such as liquidated damages. Many found these terms and conditions unfair to small companies.

You can see details on the rulings here.

Whilst these rule changes offer much more protection to small businesses, you, of course, need to enter into any legal contract with your eyes open. This applies to anything from buying a car to even Adelaide rubbish disposal collection or whatever.

 

Waster’s 30-day agreements for rubbish collection in Adelaide

We deliver all Waster rubbish collection Adelaide services (and nationwide) on flexible 30-day agreements. You can check out all the details on our pricing plans here and our terms and conditions details here.

If you want to cancel for whatever reason, simply provide us with 30 days’ notice in writing. An email will suffice and we will cancel the agreement and remove the bins.

We are big believers in not forcing customers to stay with us. If you want to move to another supplier, that is your choice and we wish you well. At the end of the day, business decisions are made for many various reasons.

Whilst we by no means encourage customers to cancel with us, it does happen on occasion. For example, a cafe client failed to get planning permission for new development and had to close down. We also had a client who was held to contract by a previous waste supplier.

Check out our article on waste management in Melbourne and signing a long-term contract.

When it comes to rubbish bin hire Adelaide, Waster will certainly be the most flexible option for your business.

 

Waste management Adelaide: can I change bin sizes for rubbish collection Adelaide services?

At Waster, we always encourage customers to start with the minimal number of bins required, as you can increase the frequency or add additional bins at a later date. We had customers who needed to change bins as the bin size selected was either too small or too large. For example, we had a customer that found their 3m bin too heavy to move around their site and wanted to change to more regular collections of 1.1m bins.

It is important to have flexibility as businesses change all the time. And, you need services to suit your needs, not the supplier.

We always try to work with our customers to match their requirements and minimise any business disruption caused by bin swap-over, etc. Check out our latest blog on skip bin hire in Melbourne.

As it is coming up to the Christmas season, the peak auction season for housing in Australia is drawing to a close. Many people are moving house, or of course, receiving lots of presents from a certain gentleman from the North Pole! It is at this time of year that it can be very useful to know about how to arrange low-cost rubbish removals Adelaide services.

Waster is aย  specialist in helping small and medium Aussie companies arrange their waste management and recycling bins services, as well as helping people with one-off services such as rubbish removals in Adelaide.

 

How to organise reliable and low-cost Adelaide rubbish removals services

If you have some extra rubbish that will not fit into your normal council collection, we would suggest the following options as a means to get rid of it:

Step 1: Check when your next bulk rubbish collection is scheduled by your local council. Most council areas will have bulk rubbish collections for residential houses a couple of times a year. There is, of course, no point in booking and paying for commercial rubbish removals Adelaide services if a council pickup is planned next week!

For example, the City Of Port Adelaide lists their bulk rubbish collections here and what can be collected.

Usual items will include:

  • Bikes
  • Broken toys
  • Carpet
  • Electrical items –ย TV’s (3 max per service), computers and computing equipment, toasters etc.
  • Furniture – bookcases, couches, tallboys etc
  • Mattresses (3 max per service)
  • Old roofing or fencing iron
  • Tree Pruning’s no longer than 2m in length and 30 cm in diameter (must be bundled)
  • Whitegoods –ย fridges, freezers, washing machines etc (must have doors removed for safety)

Step 2: if it is mostly loose cardboard, you can generally take it and drop it off at a recycling centre such as this one for free.

Step 3: if you still need to arrange low-cost rubbish removal services in Adelaide, you can call us on 1300 927 837 and we will arrange for friendly personnel to visit your location.

We will tell you the price in advance so you get no nasty surprises and provide a prompt response.

 

Conclusion

There are numerous options available for rubbish removals in Adelaide services that may be free such as council collections or dropping of cardboard etc for free at a recycling centre. For other services, Waster can help you out quickly and efficiently!

You can also check out our related blogs on the topic if you live in Sydney or Melbourne.

 

Did you know that South Australia has the highest recycling rate per capita of any state or territory in Australia? Due to the excellent performance of Adelaide waste management providers, they have diverted over 80% of total waste generated in the state from landfill. We intend to look at the available avenues to further improve performance for businesses.

According to The Advertiser, “in 2013-14, about 4.5 million tonnes of waste was generated but 3.6 million tonnes of that was reused, recycled or subject to energy or material recovery, meaning less than one million tonnes ended up at the tip.”

If you are a regular reader of our blogs and website, you will know that we are always looking for innovative ways to reduce pollution and the dumping of waste.

 

How can Adelaide’s waste management improve?

It is great to be number one, but you have to work hard to stay number one as there are always new ways to improve. The South Australian Conservation Minister released an innovative discussion paper with ideas for the sector which we will cover briefly today.

There is the double benefit that improving recycling is expected to also create jobs โ€“ extra important after some tough years as regards job news in Adelaide.

Itโ€™s estimated that for every 10,000 tonnes of waste recycled 9.2 full-time jobs are created, whereas only 2.8 jobs are created when that amount waste ends up in landfill.”

Some of the leading ideas from the discussion paper are below. Note: we quote from The Advertiser:

Save as you throw programme: The Save-As-You-Throw program in New York City is a usage-pricing model implemented for disposing of municipal solid waste. This means residents are charged for their rubbish collection based on the amount they throw away. It has been shown to reduce waste generation by as much as 30 per cent because it creates a direct economic incentive to recycle more and to generate less waste. It would be a big change in the way households in the Adelaide metro area pay for waste collection, which is currently a flat fee charged on council rates bills.

Mandatory food waste recycling:ย  “The Government could consider introducing new laws for how packaged food waste is disposed of, especially by supermarkets. It would also look at the system of incentives for businesses to recycle and how to beef up food donation options.

Additional ideas

Ban on polystyrene packaging: “Setting up a trial promoting a switch from the use of conventional polystyrene food packaging to better alternatives in the CBD, where there is a high density of cafes and takeaway restaurants. Depending on the success, the Government could consider banning certain polystyrene products, similar to single-use plastic bags.ย 

A ban on microplastics. “The Government will consider the possibility of leading the push for a national ban on microplastics in personal care products and in the absence of that, consider whether SA should act independently in the way it did with banning single-use plastic shopping bags.

Clampdown on illegal dumping. “The Government may change the laws around illegal dumping of waste, which costs councils millions each year, to make it easier for the Environment Protection Authority and other authorities to identify who has done the dumping, to collect evidence of the offence and therefore successfully prosecute offenders.”

Check out our blog on the recent TV expose of the NSW waste sector for info in this regard.

 

Recycling Adelaide

As business owners, we often understand the benefits of recycling for the environment, our business reputation and, of course, its lesser cost compared to general waste bin hire, especially for simple and common services such as cardboard and paper recycling or yellow bin commingled recycling.

In this part of the blog, we cover some simple techniques to help you get the point across to your staff who need to separate general waste from recyclables if you are looking to boost cardboard or bottle recycling in Adelaide etc.

 

Waste management and recycling services for Adelaide businesses

Waster offers online waste management and recycling services in Adelaide (e.g., plastic recycling) to small and medium Australian businesses on flexible 30-day agreements.

 

Recycling Adelaide: tips to help drive your business recycling programme

Many of our Adelaide customers have said they would love to recycle more but have shied away from more ambitious waste management plans due to fears staff will not separate waste. This is a bit like in hotels, where there is a sign asking do you want to use the towel again. US researchers have found how best to influence people to make the right environmental decision and it may not be what you expect.

An article at Fastcodesign.com explains the evidence, which we quote here for recycling Adelaide benefits.

cardboard recycling adelaide

“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency started a program to reduce hotel water consumption called the H2Otel Challenge. In addition to installing new equipment, such as water-efficient toilets, faucets, and showerheads, hotels are encouraged to give guests the option of reusing their towels and sheets with those little signs that have become ubiquitous across the United States.

What the EPA doesn’t mention is that the wording used in designing these signs mattersโ€”a lot. Signs that draw on our concern for the environment, are good motivators. But new and old evidence alike suggests that signs drawing on our sense of social norms, telling us just how many other people in our same position reused a towel or linen, are better ones.

“Knowing the basic power of social norms, behavioural scientists Noah Goldstein, Robert Cialdini, and Vladas Griskevicius created two versions of the towel re-use signs for guests. One gave the standard industry message playing on environmental concerns. It said this:

“HELP SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT. You can show your respect for nature and help save the environment by reusing your towels during your stay.

 

“The other focused on social norms:

“JOIN YOUR FELLOW GUESTS IN HELPING TO SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT. Almost 75% of guests who are asked to participate in our new resource savings program do help by using their towels more than once. You can join your fellow guests in this program to help save the environment by reusing your towels during your stay.

“They found that guests with the social norm sign reused their towels at a significantly higher rate than those with the standard sign. In a second experiment over 53 days, the researchers found that signs referring to guests in that specific room numberโ€”as opposed to just other hotel guests in generalโ€”served as even stronger motivators for towel reuse.

“So reminding people to save the environment by reusing their towels was effective, but it wasn’t as effective as telling them that other guests in the hotel reused their towels, and neither approach was as effective as telling them that other guests in that exact room reused their towels. The point is that not all forms of persuasion are created equal. For a number of possible reasonsโ€”peer pressure, perhaps, or even the minor kinship that forms among hotel patronsโ€”guests reused towels when they knew that other guests in their position did the same.”

 

Conclusion: implications for boosting your business performance

We would suggest using something like this to help incentivise your teams to do the right thing โ€“ something like “85% of people in this role separate waste and recycling correctly” or whatever is most suitable. See our blog on environmental services.

It sounds weird, but guilt and comparing yourself to others are hugely effective motivators! You might as well use this info for something good like boosting our recycling and decreasing your business costs. Create a virtuous circle of recycling performance!

See our blog on whether lotteries could be used to help boost environmental performance in recycle bin.

Also, see our infographic about recycling facts Australians needs to know.

 

Adelaide recycling business guide

In the world of waste management and recycling, there are always two ongoing objectives in the minds of business owners and operators; how they can reduce their costs and how they can boost their recycling. Of course, we all know that different people value these two objectives differently.

One of the things we at Waster know is that many people do not actually have access to high-quality and reliable information and guidance on how to implement a proper and sensible recycling plan in their business. This means that they continue sending far too much waste to landfill. In addition, they also spend too much money on their business waste management.

At Waster, we really work hard to be different from other waste and recycling providers. And in many cases, providing high-quality recycling information is very important.

 

The good in boosting recycling

What if I told you that boosting recycling is actually the best way to deliver lower and more sustainable costs for your business on a permanent basis? Sounds good, right? A classic win-win scenario.

Sometimes in life and business, you have to trade off one objective against another โ€“ more money for less time and vice-versa, etc. At least when it comes to business recycling, you can achieve a win-win or more recycling at lesser costs!

 

Adelaide recycling business guide: using a real-world example to illustrate a step-by-step guide

Waster views true waste management as encompassing more than just picking up your bins on time. Of course, we know that that is our core business. And, we certainly know that is what our clients demand. We also see seek to reduce your total costs, help you improve your processes and enhance your environmental performance.

Due to recent legislation changes such as increasing Government levies on dumping at landfill (nationally and also in South Australia), boosting recycling is a great way to cut your costs. We provide links to the SA EPA detailing up-to-date landfill levy info here. On that page, we have also provided lots of useful links and resources for you to boost your Adelaide recycling performance.

Continuing through 2022, the cost of dumping at landfill in Adelaide metro and South Australia is constantly increasing due to ever-growing landfill levies. Whilst the levy on dumping at landfill is designed to increase recycling in many cases, it can be a real tax on small businesses.

 

Example: a busy Adelaide restaurant currently disposing of all waste in general waste

To provide a real-world example of an Adelaide recycling business guide, please take a look at the statement below.

We recently started working with a busy restaurant located in the Adelaide CBD. They disposed of all their waste in General waste (a 3m General Waste bin collected once per week for a total cost of $83.89+GST per week. This equated to 12m of general waste (over a 4-week month).

When we asked the customer about the content of their bins, we found out it was roughly one-quarter of paper and cardboard, 10% food waste and 22% bottle and cans.

The steps we implemented for Adelaide recycling are as follows:

A. Implement a paper and cardboard recycling collection โ€“ once a month collection of a 3.0 cubic metre paper and cardboard service costing $32.40 +GST.

B. Next, implement weekly commingled recycling collection of a 660-litre bin, costing $11.70+GST per collection.

C. After that, implement twice weekly organic food-waste collection in 120-litre bins, costing $20+GST per week.

D. Lastly, as the volume of general waste had dropped significantly, we were able to reduce the collection of the general waste bin to once a fortnight and also reduce the collection cost to $71.28+GST as the bin was now lighter (i.e. no food-waste). For more details on bin sizes Australia, click here.

The total cost on a four week month reduced by over 10% from $336+GST to $301+GST whilst recycling performance jumped from zero to 55%. Not a bad performance at all!

YouTube video

If you would like to check out our rates and services for Adelaide recycling, jump on our online waste shop today by hitting the blue button below:

See our blogs on restaurant waste management and Wollongong recycling.

 

Larger business owner