Waste disposal – a challenge for many companies

Annually we deliver 2.01 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste to our planet…

and 33% of that waste isn’t safely managed. 

The average person generates 0.74 kilograms of waste daily, but it ranges from 0.11 to 5 kilograms. 

High-income countries create 34% of the world’s waste, and they make only 16% of the world’s population. 

What’s worse, it’s predicted that by 2050, global waste will reach 3.40 billion tonnes. It’s expected the waste generation to grow by 19% in high-income countries. Low-income countries will most likely produce three times more waste by 2050. 

The population continues to grow and it demands more energy and resources so, it’s crucial individuals and businesses to find a way to dispose of waste safely and sustainably. Correct waste disposal isn’t only financially efficient, but also contributes to growing a sustainable planet and developing a higher quality of life for people. 

All workplaces produce waste, but construction, industrial and commercial industries are accounted for generating 70% of the total waste businesses produce. Controlling and managing the waste industries produce is crucial because it costs them money and it damages the planet. Proper plans and operations for sustainable waste management can reduce emissions and costs, and show to the public the company’s commitment to social responsibility. 

So what approach will you adopt to dispose of waste safely within your corporation?

How should you deal with waste?

The law establishes that businesses need to safely dispose of their waste, in a way that meets international and local laws. The Waste Framework Directive, established by a European Union Directive in 2008 institutes the waste disposal hierarchy. It ranks the preferred methods of waste management and control. 

• Prevention

• Preparation for reuse

• Recycling

• Other recovery

• Disposal

During the prevention stage, it’s recommended to use less material, reuse materials, keep a product for a longer period, and use minimum-toxic materials. Preparation for reuse implies analysing, cleaning, and repairing objects to use them longer and preventing them to transform into waste. 

The last three methods establish what companies should do with waste once they create it. By recycling something, they turn it into a new product. Other recovery means transforming waste into something useful, for example by burning some materials you can obtain energy. The less preferred option is disposal because waste gets to a landfill or is incinerated without obtaining energy.  

Identify the processes that produce the largest amount of waste

Vaguely knowing how to stop or handle waste isn’t a good enough strategy. Before establishing a waste prevention program, you need to quantify and classify your company’s waste streams. Different types of waste your organisation produces have a different impact on the economy and their special methods of disposal. Various streams have their own potential for reducing, reusing and recycling that influence the demand you put on your waste management partner. 

By identifying and classifying the waste your business produces, you understand how to separate streams and to cut expenses, create specific strategies for each of them and apply the waste strategy. 

An effective way to categorise your waste stream is to follow the next steps: 

• General refuse

• Paper

• Production scrap

• Construction waste

• Special waste

The content from litter bins gets into the general refuse category. Some of the items your employees place in their bins can be recovered, so it’s advisable the waste disposal team to check if they can recycle some of the content. You can introduce a recycling and recovery program to train your team to reduce the amount of waste they place in the general refuse category. Charities collect printer cartridges, and vending machine operators recover used polystyrene cups. These are only two examples of how you can recycle some of the items that get into the litter bins. 

Separating materials when disposing of them is essential to establish a sustainable waste management program in your organisation. 

The Waste Regulations established in 2015 that paper needs to be separated from plastic, glass, and metal when thrown away. The regulations also recommend companies to reduce the amount of paper they use, now that they can use digital means to stock data. 

If during the manufacturing process you produce scrap you should have a collection arrangement in place that lowers the amount of scrap you generate. Welding extraction is a process that allows you to capture hazardous fumes before they get into the air and pollute the environment. 

When constructing a new facility, it’s the constructor’s responsibility to dispose of the waste they create, but it’s your role to supervise if they complete this task. Establish with the contractor if you can repurpose some of the things they plan to throw away. Sometimes an old door they choose to dispose of, can be useful elsewhere. Or you can donate it to charity. 

How to dispose of hazardous waste

Hazardous waste is made of items and materials that are harmful either to the environment or to people. Many items, including household materials and equipment, fall into this category, and the bad part is that many people don’t know what examples make toxic waste. Electrical items, asbestos, fridges, batteries, freezers, tyres and many other elements are categorised as hazardous. It basically depends on the type of industry you operate in. 

To correctly dispose of hazardous elements you need to identify, categorise, and segregate them. It’s essential to carefully process them and dispose of them, assisted by a licensed specialist. All hazardous materials need to be stored in special recycling facilities. To separate hazardous from space parts, specialists break the items down in a controlled environment. 

Some wastes don’t harm only the planet, they also harm the humankind. By unsafely handling waste materials, your employees can endanger their lives or the materials can leak out of the landfill space and pollute the surrounding areas. Food crops and water supplies are often victims of unsafe waste disposal. 

Safe waste disposal is not only healthier for people and the environment, but also more economical. Instead of using raw materials, we recycle or repurpose used ones, at cheaper rates.