Taking out the garbage: how to reduce waste and save money too

AuthorRichard White Published 28 September 2009

Topic 9 'Waste management and resource conservation' of Unit 405 Environmental Management examines aspects of waste classification and management (including legislation). The disposal of commercial and industrial waste to landfill is set to become increasingly expensive so it is appropriate to begin planning how to reduce waste disposal costs and environmental impacts of your day-to-day operations.

To begin, consider why waste is generated:

1. Materials
   • you purchase goods with packaging materials that end up as waste
   • your processing produces trimmings, off-cuts and scrap material
   • material you use requires cleaning or pre-processing prior to use
   • waste materials are not easy to reuse or recycle.
2. Equipment
   • equipment error cause some of your products to be rejected
   • your equipment requires frequent cleaning or replacement
   • waste is produced during start-up and at end-of-run.
3. Procedures
   • organisational administration produces too much paper
   • rubbish bins are more accessible than recycle bins
   • equipment is cleaned/replaced even if it doesn’t need to be
   • unused equipment is thrown away
   • inappropriate handling/storage spoils or damages products
   • too many short production runs (start-up/end-of-run losses).
4. People
   • human error results in product being rejected
   • operators run equipment as they choose, not always optimally
   • existing recycling systems are not followed
   • crib room/canteen waste.
5. Monitoring
   • no one knows how much waste is generated
   • no one knows where the waste is generated
   • no one knows what waste is generated
   • no one knows if existing recycling systems are being used
   • no one knows how much the waste disposal costs.

Many organisations don't know how waste is generated and managed, but it is possible to implement some relatively simple activities that will help reduce waste generated and the cost of disposal.

1. Materials
   • use suppliers who use less packaging or who reuse/recycle packaging
   • reduce scrap by ordering made-to-measure items
   • reduce scrap by modifying cutting patterns
   • reduce scrap by reusing/recycling trimmings and off-cuts.
2. Equipment
   • buy equipment that minimises waste generation
   • maintain your equipment to reduce reject rates.
3. Procedures
   • implement waste minimisation in the office (e.g., don't print emails, print on both sides of a page, etc)
   • modify waste and recycling systems to encourage recycling
   • modify handling/storage to minimise damage to products
   • sell unused equipment
   • replace/repair equipment when required (not automatically/routinely)
   • arrange production runs to minimise start-up/end-of-run losses.
4. People
   • train staff to minimise waste
   • train staff to save money via better waste management
   • introduce recycling/composting systems for crib room/canteen waste.
5. Monitoring
   • measure and report how much waste is generated
   • measure and report where the waste is generated
   • measure and report what waste is generated
   • measure and report if existing recycling systems are being used
   • measure and report waste disposal costs
   • set targets and determine benchmarks.

These activities are the first step to better waste management. They can save money and the environment.