Business

Reduce Waste In Your Business With These Strategies

Did you know that companies produce millions of tons of waste annually? Australia, in particular, generates over 75 million tons of waste yearly. And about 6.5 million tons of waste are generated by businesses which end up in landfills.

While the statistics are quite concerning, the effects are even more alarming. These wastes are often sent to incinerators and landfills, producing hazardous toxins and greenhouse gases. Furthermore, toxic leachate or sludge also increases, killing plants and animals, destroying wildlife habitats, and contaminating the land, water, and air. In addition, trash is a waste of natural resources since it uses money, energy, water, land, and labor to produce and dispose of materials and items.

As such, you want to take the initiative and minimize your commercial waste to lessen your impact on Mother Earth. Here are some strategies to follow:

  1. Measure Your Waste

The first thing you need to do is determine how much waste your business produces and where it comes from. With the information you collected from a waste audit, you can create a plan to effectively reduce the amount of waste generated.

The collected waste should be categorized during a waste audit to ensure efficient analysis. Consider auditing different departments or areas separately if you have a bigger office.

  1. Create A Waste Reduction Team

As with any initiative, assigning someone to oversee your waste reduction project can ensure your goals are achieved.

Generally, it’s best to assign employees who are passionate about preserving the environment. Millennials and Gen Z employees are often eco-conscious and will be more than happy to be a part of a team that helps minimize waste and do its part for the environment.

The waste reduction team will identify your office’s waste issues and provide solutions to these problems. Each member will also serve as a spokesperson, influencing other employees to adopt best practices that help reduce waste and other strategies that lessen your business’s overall carbon footprint.

  1. Transition To Paperless Office

Most companies are still paper-dependent. Statistics show that the average office employee uses up to 10,000 sheets annually and about 45% of all pages printed end up in the trash.

Seeing the significant amount of waste produced by paper files, you should take the initiative to go paperless. A paperless office doesn’t necessarily mean being paper-free. It means you use minimal physical paper and mainly transact or use digital documents.

Nowadays, businesses go paperless with invoicing, bills, customer records, etc. You can encourage employees to use note-taking apps during meetings or web forms to take customer data. Besides reducing waste, going paperless promises better access, faster collaboration between team members, and more efficient processes, ultimately increasing workplace productivity.

  1. Remove Disposables In The Pantry

The pantry is one of the most significant waste contributors in most offices. Single-use cups, cutlery, and plates not only increase your business waste but can also become expensive in the long run.

Instead of bottled water, give your employees reusable bottles or mugs with your company logo. Then, provide access to unlimited filtered water. Also, replace plastic cutlery and paper plates with washable ones to minimize waste generated. Establish a workplace policy like ‘Clean as you go’ to ensure dirty dishes don’t stack up.

  1. Recycle

Recycling is collecting and reusing waste materials into new, repurposed items. Since it aims to find a new purpose for waste material, recycling is one of the best ways to minimize business waste and benefit the environment.

You can implement a recycling program in your business and teach your employees proper recycling practices. This way, you can keep waste materials out of landfills. It can also benefit the community if you choose to donate your recycled materials from your bin collection.

  1. Consider Composting

You might not think about it, but composting is relevant to your business as much as it is in households. This is particularly true if you have a business that produces significant organic waste, like restaurants or food stores. However, it is still suitable for offices with pantries or cafeterias.

Food waste and leftovers can be removed from your waste stream and used for composting. For instance, fruit and vegetable scraps, eggshells, coffee grounds, spoiled foods, and more can be composted. While composting will require more effort than other strategies to minimize waste, it offers a significant return on investment in terms of time and effort. This is particularly true if your commercial space has a lawn and garden. You can save on fertilizer and grow a beautiful garden that appeals to guests and employees.

Takeaway

Between the worsening global warming and customers demanding businesses to be environmentally conscious, your company should be taking a stand against waste and minimizing its negative impact on the Earth.

And with the above-mentioned strategies, you can easily start the transition toward an eco-friendlier business. Even the smallest changes in your business operations can make a huge difference to the overall health of Mother Earth.

Christopher Stern

Christopher Stern is a Washington-based reporter. Chris spent many years covering tech policy as a business reporter for renowned publications. He has extensive experience covering Congress, the Federal Communications Commission, and the Federal Trade Commissions. He is a graduate of Middlebury College. Email:[email protected]

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