What a Waste - The Cure to Common Waste Problems

By Kenzo Kawasaki

Image courtesy Pixabay

If you own a business, it no doubt produces waste.  Whether that waste involves little more than discarded toner cartridges and shredded paper, or everything from packing materials to industrial waste, the secret to keeping waste from becoming a problem has as much to do with logistics as cartage.  That being said, from time to time business owners can run into problems when it comes to handling the waste that their company produces.  To keep you from winding up hip deep in waste, I thought it best to devote this week’s blog to identifying waste handling problems and cures before it becomes an unsightly mess.

What’s Good for Business can be Bad for Garbage

Business is a lot like the Army.  It’s either up or out.  What causes many businesses to run afoul of waste handling is when business suddenly booms.  A flurry of new clients means not only will production kick into overdrive, so can the residue of the processes involved.  All of a sudden, the 15-yard dumpster which has served you so well for so long seems to be bursting at the seams.  While you can simply call your waste hauler to request a 22-foot or a 30-foot dumpster, if your firm’s good fortune continues apace, how long will it be until the new bin runneth over? 

When it comes to scaling up waste handling without having to spend ever more money for storage and hauling, a scalable solution to ever increasing waste would be to purchase or lease a commercial compactor.  This would allow your staff to deal with the ups and downs of the waste being produced by your firm without your having to spend a fortune trying to keep up with an ever-changing demand.

Doing Your Wallet and the Environment Some Good

Image courtesy wikimedia

Another thing to consider when it comes to waste management is how much of your waste is recyclable.  If your firm produces a lot of paper, wood byproducts, plastic, corrugated cardboard, or aluminum, before you toss the stuff in the bin, consider if recycling would be a better solution.  Today there are entire industries built on salvaging recyclables.  (There are even companies that convert organic food waste into renewable energy.)  Even better is the fact that some of these firms are prepared to pay you per ton for recyclables.  If your business produces any of the above-mentioned waste products in quantity, consider investing in a baler that will allow you to package and resell recycled waste.    A simple vertical baler could be all it takes to turn some of your trash into cash while doing a good turn for the environment as well.  That’s right, you can go green while putting some folding green in your pocket at the same time.

Waste is a Terrible Thing to Mind

As technology has evolved, so have alternative uses for trash.  Where in the past, millions of trees were cut to supply the needs of the nation for paper, recent trends have shown that up to 82% of paper used by business is now supplied via recycling.  While non-recyclable plastics have proven to be something of a political football, new technologies are being developed and introduced to make the problems of plastic pollution a thing of the past.  A surprising number of castoff products can now be recycled and repackaged to reduce waste.

Rather than simply add more waste to the country’s landfills, savvy business owners take the time to find alternatives that allow them to sell or donate some of their waste products to industries who are glad to take it off their hands.  Even if you have to give the stuff away, the gesture will save your firm money since the trash won’t have to be hauled away to a landfill.

How to Deal with Hazardous Waste

Image courtesy flickr

While the production and removal of hazardous waste can pose more of an issue to companies unused to dealing with it, this doesn’t have to be a deal killer.  Hazardous waste covers a lot of ground these days.  Everything from manufacturing byproducts and industrial waste to discarded computer hardware and batteries are better off left out of the landfill.  Although used computer gear can many times be donated rather than discarded, the same can’t be said of waste oil, batteries and toxic manufacturing waste.  Some business waste such as discarded batteries can be carted off to municipal hazardous disposal centers.  Typical hazardous materials accepted by municipalities are listed below:

      ·         Automotive products including antifreeze, fluids, motor oil, oil filters, gas, polish, and waxes

      ·         Batteries, including those used in the home, for business and automotive lead acid batteries

      ·         Electronics: TVs, computers, cellphones, printers, fax machines, MP3 players, DVD players

      ·         Fluorescent light bulbs and compact fluorescent lamps

      ·         Thermometers and thermostats.

      ·         Paint products, spray paints, caulk, wood preservative, and wood stain

      ·         Garden chemicals and fertilizer

      ·         Pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides

      ·         Hypodermic needles and lancets

      ·         Swimming pool chemicals  

      ·         Household chemicals: toilet bowl cleaner, shower/tile cleaner, carpet cleaner, rust remover 

  When it comes to dealing with waste in the 21^st Century, there are more options available to savvy     business owners other than simply tossing it into the dumpster.  By taking a little time to peruse the   Internet, it’s not all that difficult to find waste management solutions that benefit both the environment   and the bottom line.  As they say, waste not, want not.

Kenzo Kawasaki is president of BC Hydraulic Services, a commercial trash compactor service company based in Jacksonville, Florida.