The head contractor of a project is responsible for designing a waste management plan. The plan covers all the details regarding salvage, reuse, and recycling. It plan also helps explain waste disposal to clients for a waste disposal job. You can’t reuse these plans as each job and site requires tailored plans.
A proper waste management plan is essential to your organization or business as it allows you to increase overall efficiency and reduce operating costs. Additionally, it can serve as an effective platform to enhance your organization’s environmental credibility.
1. Monitor Waste and Collect Data
At first, you need to perform a waste audit to figure out the types of waste that are generated at your site, or are expected to be produced in near future. For instance, if you are a contractor who will be overseeing a project, you are likely to deal with the management of paint, concrete, drywall, and other construction debris. For waste management at an office, you are likely to toss boxes, food waste, paper, and office supplies.
It’s possible to conduct a waste audit on your own. However, if it’s possible, you should consider getting an expert who has experience dealing with these types of projects. For instance, if you are based in Michigan, you can consider reaching out to Century Waste Management. Many commercial and residential clients contact us to improve their waste management. Often, they rent our dumpsters to deal with waste effectively.
If you are confident about handling an audit yourself, your data has to be complete and accurate. In this way, you can dedicate your efforts to the biggest problem areas.
2. Set Goals
After collecting data, ask yourself:
- Where do you need to improve?
- What is the most common waste thrown by your company?
- How is it possible to reduce waste?
Hold meetings with your team to create solutions and make a plan that implements them in an affordable and productive way.
Your goals can’t be general as they have to be measurable and specific so you can track your progress after each period. You can meet your goals by assigning someone from your team to manage your waste management plan and motivate them to participate. A clear overview of your plan can ensure that your team meets its goals.
Your goal also must outline your plan’s objective and can include the following:
- Eliminate waste generation
- Recycle and reuse waste generated from the job
- Use materials and products that reduce waste
- Use construction techniques that enable waste diversion
- Sort waste and put them in a rented roll-off dumpster
3. Create a System
Figure out the most efficient methods to address your waste streams. You can make sure that your plan stays on track by enforcing a daily system and spread out tasks among individuals. For instance, if you belong to the food industry, pick a destination to place paper products, broken dishware, and food scraps. Similarly, if you are running an organization, hire and train custodial personnel to take care of your on-site waste.
4. Treat Waste Differently
Consider recycling options and look out for areas where it’s possible to reduce waste without affecting your business. This is an eco-friendly method of doing business and will also reduce expenses for you permanently.
- Remove items that aren’t needed in daily processes. The idea is to limit the generation of waste.
- Cut down your consumption of products. Buy only services and goods that are essential to the functioning of your organization.
- Try to use as many items as possible. For instance, you can reuse scrap paper, reusable cups in the office, and promote the use of lunch boxes over plastic bags.
- Recycle staff that can’t be removed or reused. Buy products that are made from recycled content or materials.
5. Promote Collaboration
A collaborative approach can make things easier for you while creating a waste management plan. For this purpose, discuss these matters with your employees and tenants in your commercial property. This way, determine what waste disposal and recycling methods are put in place at the moment, and how you can improve them to boost sustainability, job satisfaction, and productivity. Also, speak with your community’s members and assure them that you will try your best to reduce the negative impact of commercial waste disposal on the surroundings.
6. Plan for Hazard Waste
Keep in mind that dumpster rental companies don’t accept all kinds of waste. This means that you can rent them for hazardous items. Products, such as medical waste, batteries, paints, and oil, have unique disposal processes. There is a reason why dumpster rental companies refuse to take them as they are flammable, toxic, and considered unsafe for the environment and humans.
If you have to dispose of hazardous materials, look for a local collection facility, and handle it safely.
7. Monitor Waste Stream
Track your waste streams to decide if you have started to generate more or less waste after the initial audit. Next, check whether your plan can still address these needs. If it’s still good enough, then there’s no cause of concern. However, if it has become ineffective, you need to call out a meeting with your team and adjust your plan for better outcomes.
Final Thoughts
A well-thought-out waste management plan can ensure that you get to send the least amount of trash to the landfill. However, you are going to need assistance from a dumpster rental company in Michigan to throw a wide range of items. Get in touch with Century Waste Management. We can help you to throw out all the unneeded and useless waste from your site or workplace.