Don't Get Caught Out – Cut Your Waste Disposal Costs

When you run a small business, one thing you definitely don’t want to waste money on is refuse – agreed?  But the costs of disposing of trash can be phenomenal, so get ahead of it – and don’t get caught out.

Wise up about waste costs

Did you know that companies end up counting not only the environmental, but also the financial cost of the waste they generate? Landfill taxes, increasing waste disposal costs, the list just goes on, so it’s time to wise up.  You wouldn’t want this to swallow up a lot of your turnover or sabotage your success, after all – so let’s sort it.

The first thing to do is work out where you are now and look at ways you can start to tackle this waste problem.

Reuse and recycle

You don’t need to own sandals or eat lentils to understand the need to reuse and recycle things as much as possible. And trying to prevent your business from producing so much waste in the first place is also a great, practical idea. So ask anyone who works for you to only print when they have to – and encourage a paperless workplace wherever possible.

Try working with suppliers who’ll use as little packaging as possible – and make it a negotiating point when you start a new contract.  Another straightforward thing you can do is reduce the physical size of your rubbish – it sounds obvious, but it’s effective.

Carry out a waste assessment

As we said previously, you’re not going to get anywhere if you don’t know exactly what trash you’re producing. So get up to speed as soon as possible on your company’s refuse output, by carrying out a detailed assessment.  You can do this yourself or try working with a specialist waste or recycling organization.

Devise a clear strategy

Once you understand more about the current situation, how do you go about making the most effective changes?  Devise a clear strategy that identifies a set of goals, and ensure it achieves the following things:

• sets goals for waste reduction going forwards;
• encourages all staff to reduce waste, and to suggest new methods of waste reduction;
• produces clear outlines of the benefits of reducing waste, so that a consistent message can be promoted and
• monitors progress towards waste reduction targets.

Invest in waste management machinery

If your assessment shows you’re producing large volumes of unavoidable waste, dedicated machinery may be your best bet to tackle it.

There are a wide variety of waste compactors available which reduce the physical size of your rubbish. This means you gain space and take control of your refuse as it’s altered into a form that’s much more controllable.  That’s a positive step forward for any business – and it also reduces transportation costs and potential landfill charges.

Cutting down on waste disposal has lots of benefits for your business  -, and makes sure you don’t get caught out by avoidable costs. It also makes your customers happy to know you’re being environmentally responsible so, in that way, it’s obvious everyone’s a winner.