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Waste Management Planning for Businesses

If you’re a business with significant amounts of waste to regularly dispose of and transport, it’s important to have an actionable plan for how these processes are carried out. Badly planned waste management can be one of the most costly mistakes a business can make, and you want to avoid the issues it might create for you.

At Enviro Care, we’re here to help. Our hazardous waste transportation and disposal services help many businesses with all their waste needs, ensuring you’re free to focus on the other vital elements of your business. Here are the basic steps we recommend following when creating a new plan for waste management.

Identify Accountable Parties

Before you get started putting anything on paper or changing any processes, you have to identify the people or teams who will be responsible for managing waste management areas and plans. If you’re a particularly large business, this should be done on a committee basis in most cases.

Generally, you’re looking to prioritize senior employees for these roles. If possible, look for those who have an interest in the environment and are experienced with waste services in the past. With these kinds of people spearheading your efforts, you won’t veer off course.

Review Current Practices

As you go about creating a new plan for waste management, it’s valuable to compare things to your previous practices. Review your current waste expenditures and determine the types of waste your business creates, or if you think it’s necessary, consider a professional waste audit or compliance consulting.

Once you have your baseline costs, the creating a new plan will be far simpler. This will allow you to identify any inefficiencies in your logistical processes, plus areas where you can be more efficient.

Set Realistic Goals

As you’re moving forward and determining which major elements of your plan need to change from previous iterations, it’s time to set your goals. In general, waste management plans have three broad goals:

  • Increase recycling processes

  • Decrease waste expenses

  • Promote sustainability across the company

Within each of these broad areas, you’ll want to go about creating smaller goals and actions. It’s important to keep these realistic, including consulting with professionals about proper expectations – too much expected of the waste management team will cause work to be done at a subpar level.

Create a Plan

Now it’s time to put your plan on paper, including everything from the company you’re using for waste management to whether you need to rent any equipment. If you have multiple locations, consider whether consolidating waste might save your business significant amounts. We can help you create a plan that’s customized for your business.

Monitor and Revise the Plan

You should be regularly checking back on your waste management processes, looking for ways to tweak things and make them more efficient. As your business grows, your waste needs will likely change – make sure you’re always up to speed.

For more on creating a great waste management plan for your business, or to learn about any of our environmental services, speak to the staff at Enviro Care today.