Every work environment generates garbage. Nearly 75 percent of the 200 million tonnes of waste generated in the UK in 2012 came from construction, commercial, and industrial waste. Its management and control are critical since waste has a negative impact on the environment and costs businesses money.
Ineffective systems and procedures result in wasteful expenses and emissions, whereas good waste management systems and procedures reduce costs and emissions while demonstrating an organization’s commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Implementing waste management and control systems in the workplace will fall under your remit as a health and safety practitioner. What strategy should you take?
The law and waste
To begin, it is critical to understand what waste is. Waste is defined as “any scrap material, effluent, or undesired surplus substance,” as well as “any substance or product that must be disposed of because it is broken, worn out, contaminated, or otherwise deteriorated” under the Environmental Protection Act of 1990.
There are four types of garbage that could be generated. It could be anything from a material to an object that is:
- However, it is still functional.
- Other than through specialised waste recovery, it’s usable.
- Only specialised waste recovery facilities can use it.
- Unwanted and needing to be collected.
Certain types of garbage, known as “controlled wastes,” are regulated by the Environment Agency in England and Wales. Controlled wastes include home, industrial, and commercial trash, thus your company is likely to produce them.
What should be done with waste?
Organizations are required under the Environmental Protection Act of 1990 to guarantee that their trash is safely disposed of in accordance with the law.
The Waste Framework Directive, enacted by the European Union in 2008, established the waste hierarchy. This is a ranking of management and control methods. These are, in order of preference:
- Prevention
- Preparation for reuse
- Recycling
- Other recovery
- Disposal.
Prevention entails utilising less material, retaining a product for a longer period of time, reusing materials, and employing environmentally friendly materials. Preparing goods for reuse include inspecting, cleaning, and repairing them to keep them from becoming waste.
The last three strategies are concerned with what happens to garbage after it is produced. It can be recycled to make a new product, although “other recovery” could include incineration, for example (with energy recovery). Disposal is the least preferred option because the waste will either end up in a landfill or will be incinerated with no energy recovered.
Identifying the waste that your company generates
Of all, simply understanding how to prevent or manage waste does not constitute a strategy. Prior to developing a strategy, you must first quantify and classify your company’s waste streams.
Every sort of trash generated by your company will have a different economic impact and require a different means of disposal. Each stream has its own potential for reducing, reusing, or recycling, which has an impact on the demands placed on any waste management provider your company employs.
The health and safety practitioner might look at how to segregate streams and cut expenses by identifying and classifying trash and using the waste hierarchy to design individual strategies for each stream
The following are some examples of waste streams:
- General refuse
- Paper
- Production scrap
- Construction waste
- Special wastes.
Waste such as litter bin contents is included in general refuse. There may be items in bins that can be retrieved, so check to see if any recovery or recycling programs are in place to decrease the quantity of rubbish that ends up in the general waste. Vending machine operators, for example, may be able to recover discarded polystyrene cups, while charities may be able to collect printer cartridges.
In any organization, paper is a significant waste stream. Separating paper (as well as plastic, metal, and glass) from other waste has been a legal requirement under the Waste Regulations since January 2015. However, it’s also important to think about cutting down on the amount of paper used. Procedures such as printing on both sides and just printing when necessary are beneficial in this regard.
If your company works with plastic or metal, you probably already have a collection system in place for the scrap you generate. However, there is always room for improvement in terms of production procedures in order to limit scrap generation.
If your company is having construction work done, the contractor should be responsible for disposing of any garbage that is generated. Could any materials, such as doors or floors, be repurposed elsewhere in your organization?
Special wastes are items that would normally be discarded in regular trash but should be handled with greater caution. Special wastes require separate containers, and it is critical not to allow general waste to contaminate this stream in the interests of the environment and cost. Polystyrene cups, for example, are incinerated when discarded in a hospital’s clinical waste bins. The hospital is paying to have something burned when it could be recycled instead.
Putting together a waste management plan
To begin, after identifying the various waste streams inside your organization, you must account for the trash generated. Conduct an audit to determine the amount of revenue generated and the associated costs.
Second, evaluate your company’s performance against industry benchmarks. Check to see if best practices are being followed.
Third, take a stroll around your workplace to assess waste reduction options. Ask inquiries and listen to what employees have to say, then utilize that information to put together a case to present to upper management.
Fourth, present your case to the senior management team, emphasizing that reducing waste will result in cost savings. Of course, you’ll need resources to put waste reduction strategies in place, so show them why they need more money. Form a working group to produce ideas once you’ve received the appropriate resources.
Finally, do something. Start with the areas where you can make immediate savings for the least amount of money and effort. Make sure that trash management is a part of your company’s policies and practices.
Finally, examine progress on a regular basis to see what has been accomplished and where improvements can be made. Share your results with your coworkers and upper management. In order to improve how you manage and control waste in the workplace, you should always strive for continual development.
What do you think?