Streamlining Your Business: Stress-Free Ways To Manage Waste

Waste management is a substantial expense for most businesses. In fact, it is estimated that businesses spend around 4% of their annual turnover on waste management each year, according to the Eco Experts. This makes waste management one of the biggest overhead costs for businesses.

Fortunately, there are various ways to streamline your waste management and save money on waste disposal each year. Not only will this cut your overhead costs, but it can also reduce harmful emissions and lower your carbon footprint. This should help you build a positive brand image and boost your company’s green credentials. On that note, here are some stress-free ways to manage your waste better.

Create recycling stations

Most businesses are aware of the benefits of recycling. Reusing and recycling commercial waste helps to reduce emissions by minimising the amount of waste ending up in landfills and incinerators. There has been a big drive to increase recycling rates in recent years and more and more businesses are starting to adopt green practices in the workplace. Efficient recycling can help to cut costs, reduce your environmental impact, and boost your brand image.

With that in mind, every business should make recycling a priority and create effective green waste management policies. This should involve creating centralised recycling stations that are convenient and easy to use. Make sure that you train employees on how to recycle effectively. It is also a good idea to place signs around the workplace reminding staff of the recycling policies in place.

Shred waste materials

Shredders have become extremely popular as they allow businesses to reuse waste materials before they are recycled. Cardboard shredders are recycling machines that can be used to transform old cardboard boxes into cost-effective packaging. This can then be used to protect products when they are being stored or transported.

Utilising shredded cardboard is far more sustainable than using other packaging materials such as bubble wrap. It will also reduce your business overhead costs as you won’t be required to purchase additional packaging materials for your products. This makes cardboard shredders the ideal solution for businesses that regularly dispatch products and require quality packaging materials.

Overall, using a shredder can be a highly effective way to repurpose waste material, cut your business expenses, and reduce environmental harm. That being said, not all businesses require a cardboard shredder. If your company does not currently need a shredder, then you could still benefit from a cardboard baler.

Rent a baling machine

A cardboard baler is a recycling machine that provides a simple and cost-effective way to recycle cardboard, which is the largest waste stream for most businesses. Renting a cardboard baler can benefit your business in several ways. Firstly, a baler will save you time as your employees will no longer be required to flatten cardboard boxes by hand. You simply insert cardboard boxes into the baler and the machine will compress the boxes into space-efficient bales. Having your cardboard waste stored in convenient bales will reduce the frequency of waste collections. For that reason, businesses using a baling machine save an average of £1,248 per year over using recycling bins. Another great advantage of renting a cardboard baler is that they have the potential to reduce emissions by up to 75% due to fewer collections and space savings.

Encourage staff to recycle

It is important to keep in mind that your waste management processes will only be successful if you get your team on board with your policies. Fortunately, there are plenty of simple ways to motivate employees to recycle in the workplace. Firstly, you must train your staff on how to use waste recycling facilities and machines such as balers. Having this training will encourage your employees to take advantage of recycling machines available on site. Offering green incentives can be another effective way to increase recycling rates. For instance, you could offer a voucher to the employee who recycles the most waste items each week or month.

Conclusion

Businesses generate large volumes of waste and efficient waste management should be a top priority for any company. You must introduce policies to handle your commercial waste in a way that is cost-effective and sustainable. Improving the efficiency of your waste management should reduce overhead costs, lower carbon emissions, and boost the green reputation of your brand. Try implementing the above suggestions to streamline your waste management and save money today!