While generating waste might be an unfortunate side-effect of our urbanized lifestyles, we can definitely take measures to reduce waste and protect our environment. The first step towards adopting more eco-friendly approaches to waste management is to conduct a waste audit.
These audits analyze the patterns of consumption and the kind of waste typically generated within a particular timeframe. Whether you’re sorting through household refuse or performing waste audits for your company, the process will throw light on your current waste disposal practices. In turn, it helps you formulate a sustainable action plan for a greener future.
Simply put, a waste audit is a thorough, structural process that analyses the amount and types of waste produced by an organization over a period of time. To make a positive impact, it is crucial to understand how our present habits and waste management protocols are contributing to the waste stream.
The resulting data can provide valuable information on how much of the waste generated is actually being recycled or dumped off. Also, it helps inform what you can do to streamline the process.
It is estimated that every year over 2 billion tons of municipal solid waste is generated worldwide. This number is projected to increase to 3 billion tons or more by 2050.
Thus, a waste audit report is important as it identifies the key areas of concern, helping you to find new ways to reduce or recycle waste and stay on track with the company’s sustainability goals. In the long run, regular waste assessments will help in saving money and reducing the amount of waste generated.
If you’ve never conducted a waste audit before, fear not for you’ve come to the right place. Our five-step guide will walk through the process of waste assessment and answer any nagging questions that you may have.
Follow our simple step-by-step guide to conduct a waste audit.
Before you begin the waste audit, it is important to select trusted and trained personnel for your team. You can opt for a cross-functional team, with members from varied departments such as Finance, Operations, Marketing, Accounts and so on. This way you will have several specialists to provide comprehensive inputs throughout the process and brainstorm the most effective solutions together.
With such a team, you’ll be informed of any potential safety hazards, wasteful company expenditures, incorrect waste disposal practices and the best solutions for each issue.
Once you’ve assembled the team, the next step is to choose suitable dates for the audit. Typically, the waste is collected over a 3-day period, but you may opt for a longer time frame if necessary.
Ideally do not inform most of your employees about this audit beforehand. That might change the waste disposal habits and provide you with incorrect data. Also, make sure there are no special events planned during that week so that the waste assessments can proceed smoothly.
Now that your team is ready and the dates are set, you must gather all the necessary equipment for the audit. These may include the following:
Once you have all the equipment it is time to get your hands dirty! Carefully sort through the waste materials, labeling the types of wastes and the departments they came from. Also, log their weights on a spreadsheet.
During this process, you might also make notes on which waste materials can later be recycled or reused and check if any hazardous or prohibited items are being tossed into the trash.
The next step is to find out your company’s (or household’s) diversion rate. To calculate the diversion rate simply divide the weight of recycled materials by the total weight of the garbage. Multiply this result by 100.
This number will give you an idea of how much of the waste is being recycled on a weekly basis. If the waste diversion number is low, you can set up a recycling program and dedicate resources to ensure that more of the waste generated is suitably recycled or reused.
After the sorting and calculations are complete, you’ll be left with a lot of valuable data for a detailed waste stream analysis. Using this information, you can identify which department generates the highest amount of waste, what kind of wastes are being produced the most and suitable ways to reduce that.
For instance, a company producing a lot of paper waste might decide to generate online bills instead. Similarly, large amounts of plastic waste might prompt the company to switch to cloth or paper bags and so on. You might also consider reusing or repurposing certain materials such as cardboard boxes and the like.
You can also set up new recycling goals, increase or decrease the frequency of dumpster rentals, and announce a new timeline for your company’s sustainability goals. Thus, the waste audit will help you to redirect your efforts to certain areas of concern and push you to a greener corporate culture.
Thus, regular waste audits are vital for a company’s growth and continued success. As you and your team come up with better ways to reduce waste, you’ll also be saving thousands of dollars. You’ll also attract more loyal and socially-conscious customers to your business, and inspire other start-ups and neighborhoods to go green.
To save our planet, we must all be responsible for our actions. By conducting regular waste audits, the organization takes responsibility for the waste they produce. This ensures that such materials are either recycled or disposed off in a safe manner by using a reliable dumpster rental service such as Discount Dumpster.
With several years of experience in the waste management industry, Discount Dumpster’s easy service and affordable pricing offers the perfect solution to all your waste disposal needs. Call us to get a flat no-obligation quote and get rid of any excess waste today.
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