The U.S. produces 728,000 tons of garbage every day, and a considerable chunk of that comes from commercial establishments. If you are a business owner, find out how you can effectively reduce your waste.
The average American produces an average of 4.4 pounds of trash each day. For businesses, that number can be hundreds or thousands of times higher for every operating day, which means as a business owner, you are responsible for controlling your waste production and making every effort to reduce it.
Not only is reducing trash an excellent way to lower your carbon footprint; it will also help your business save money in the process.
Here are the best ways to reduce your commercial waste:
1. Reduce, reuse, recycle
To avoid filling up your commercial or residential dumpster rental unit in Orem, let’s start with the main principles in solid waste management: the three R’s.
- Reduce. Take a look at your current business practices and see where you can reduce waste. For example, minimize packaging for some of your overpackaged products or ban printing of unnecessary documents in the office.
- Reuse. Instead of single-use containers for beverages or food products, replace them with reusable ones. This can help you decrease your waste production by 30-40%.
- Recycle. Practice proper segregation; make sure you keep recyclables in clearly labeled trash cans and remember to check with local rules regarding what can be recycled and what should go directly in the trash.
2. Embrace paperless operations
Thanks to the modern technology that is widely available today, business owners can embrace going paperless much easier, which can help conserve multiple resources such as paper, ink, and electricity.
Here are the best ways you can reduce paper consumption in your business:
- Store documents in the cloud
- Avoid printing handouts for meetings; use slideshows or electronic handouts instead
- Transition to digital receipts
- Scan materials electronically to create digital copies
- Use e-signatures to sign contracts without having to print them out
3. Reduce food waste
The U.S. is the biggest producer of food waste in the world, with about 30 to 40% of the food supply going unconsumed. To reduce food waste on a large-scale, businesses can implement the following measures:
- Avoid ordering excess volumes of food through proper forecasting and inventory management
- Modify your production practices to use most, if not all, of the food you buy
- Opt for more frequent deliveries to keep food fresh and avoid surplus
- Donate food scraps to pig farms instead of sending them to the landfill
- Give unconsumed food (but still safe to eat) to charities and shelters
- Create a compost that you can use for an on-site garden
4. Get everybody on board
Your waste reduction strategies will not be as effective if your employees aren’t fully on board with the idea of reducing waste. Make sure everybody is in line with your new policies by holding basic re-training, solid waste management seminars, or by simply issuing a company-wide memo.
The private sector is one of the biggest sources of commercial waste in the country, producing millions of tons of trash every year. Fortunately, it’s not yet too late to do your part in reducing the waste that goes to the landfills. With these waste reduction strategies, you can start the new decade as a more sustainable business.
