Establishing an effective waste management plan is vital for businesses. Ever-changing legislation requires organisations to remain compliant with guidance. An additional social expectation of environmental responsibility makes this even harder. Failing to uphold your responsibility can lead to ostracisation in the public eye.
Many businesses understand this and make an effort to curb their carbon footprint. This could be through carbon offsetting programs or switching to green energy sources. Both have a positive impact and require different levels of engagement from businesses. We recommend looking into both if you’re interested.
A business waste management plan, however, can have the biggest impact. Green energy is often just a change of source. While the impact is positive and long-lasting, it doesn’t require much input from your team.
Carbon offsetting programs are similar. They allow people to support sustainable schemes, but they don’t require active effort to change their actions or mindsets. Teach a man to fish… yada yada yada…
- Integrating a tailored waste management plan, however, changes how you approach waste. You start to think…
- ‘How should I sustainably dispose of this material?’
- ‘Do I need to dispose of this material?’
- ‘Can I use this waste to any benefit?’
- ‘Can disposing of this cause any harm?’
Asking yourself these questions is what leads to positive, long-term, sustainable impact. A bespoke waste management plan forms sustainable habits. But what makes that plan the right one for your business?
What waste do you create?
Every material requires different treatment, and even that can change based on the material’s condition. In addition, different businesses may generate more of one waste type compared to other businesses. For example, offices may need their paper waste collected much more than factory-based manufacturing jobs.
Your business needs a plan that clearly defines your waste streams. This way, you can separate any waste at the source. Separate collections help you to dispose of it safely or give it a second life through reuse and recycling. Finally, it ensures your business remains fully compliant with legislation surrounding waste separation, such as Simpler Recycling.
Any waste management company offering a ‘one size fits all’ solution usually can’t meet all your needs.
How often do you need a collection?
Businesses and organisations vary in size across every aspect. Workforce, number of locations, and production quotas all generate different amounts of waste, regardless of the stream.
Think: How many waste containers do you have?
But more importantly: How many waste containers can you fill?
Don’t worry, we aren’t challenging you to generate more waste. By knowing how much waste you generate and how it may change throughout the year, you can prepare for potential waste build-ups.
The perfect plan will ensure you have waste containers large enough to contain your actual usage. It should also scale based on factors such as reduced waste generation or operational growth. This ensures you’re never overpaying for unnecessary collections or left with full bins because of a fixed small-scale contract.
Where will it be taken?
Many businesses adopt a waste management plan to hit key sustainability targets and leave a positive impact. Unfortunately, without their knowledge, their waste is transported hundreds of miles away to a waste management site.
This minimises the impact of their efforts by maximising the fuel and energy required to reach the disposal site. Your plan should direct different waste streams to local, specialist treatment centres instead. Minimising distance reduces the energy needed for collections, ensuring unnecessary journeys don’t impact your carbon footprint.
Many sites across the UK can manage waste streams such as wood, metal and food. Things like GRP and chemical waste, however, are much harder to recycle and require specialist handling. Sites for these are harder to come by, meaning in some cases, extended journeys are a necessity.
What’s your budget?
Two factors are key when establishing the cost of your plans: budget and transparency.
Budget
Working with Agecko on your waste management plan ensures you still receive vital support, even without having a large budget. After a free on-site waste audit, we can outline how exactly your business should act.
A limited budget may not cover every area of waste management your business needs. But Agecko can create a plan that uses your budget efficiently, helping in the most vital areas. Once you’ve seen the impact, you can then decide to increase your budget and implement a comprehensive waste management plan.
Transparency
Our audits ensure you receive full transparency of the exact products and services you need. Your plan will detail the collection frequency, transport costs (and destination), containers needed on site, and which waste streams need to be managed.
With monthly carbon saving reports and waste transfer notes, you can track the impact your plan is having. They detail key statistics and data, breaking down collections and their effect on your carbon footprint. This ensures total transparency from our side, meaning you don’t have to worry about hidden costs.
Delivered by Agecko
The perfect business waste management plan saves you money on waste collection, transportation and disposal. It also ensures that you remain compliant with UK legislation and your legally required duty of care.
At Agecko, our team of specialists develop tailored waste strategies for businesses and organisations of all sizes. Whether you need a company waste management plan, an environmental waste management plan or a general waste management plan for commercial waste, we ensure long-term, compliant success. It’s all about changing your waste, not you.
