Picture this: You go to dispose of your half-empty iced coffee cup in the recycling bin at the office, thinking you’re doing good for the environment. Think again. That half-empty cup causes contamination of the entire bin. Why? Any paper products that soak up liquid waste are no longer recyclable. Plastics and metals covered in waste can reduce their value and potentially attract parasites and vermin. Recyclable materials must be clean and free of contaminants to get a second life; it’s imperative to the recycling lifecycle. Contamination can lead to an entire recycling bin being rejected and ultimately treated as general waste. Ready to avoid contamination at your business? Keep in mind these few tips.
Work With Your Provider
Communication with your provider can be your number one defense to prevent contamination and ensure your recyclables get a second life. It will be essential to work with your managed waste service provider or vendor to understand the available options for proper disposal of waste and recycling. Reaching out to and working with your provider can help clarify the optimum way to prepare recycling according to your provider’s needs. Talk with your managed waste service provider or vendor about having the right monitoring technology in place to help you measure your recycling program.
Inform Employees
The key to an effective recycling program is laying a foundation and maintaining it with employees over time. Getting employees on board from the beginning will bolster the success of your efforts, as they play an important role in your business’s recycling. Again, communication is your number one asset to provide a better understanding of what your business is doing and how employees can participate. To help ensure employees are following appropriate measures, hang “Do” and “Don’t” signage around recycling areas on the topic of proper recycling practices, such as accepted materials and instructions for avoiding contamination. You should also consider a monthly email on sustainability and take the opportunity to address any contamination problems in a timely manner.
Monitor and Track Using Technology
We live in a world with ever-changing technology. Businesses can work with a managed water provider to have monitoring and tracking systems set up to help meet sustainability and recycling solution goals. Continual monitoring and re-evaluation of processes will help ensure program success and make necessary adjustments in a timely manner. Things change over time, and that likely means you will need to make some small tweaks to your program to keep it operating as efficiently as possible. Technology platforms like cloud-based monitoring systems are available to assist you in your recycling planning and maintenance efforts over time.
A waste and recycling tracking system will let you analyze the state of your waste and recycling spend and give you a real-time view into your recycling streams. The data generated from the tracking system will provide you with the information you need to keep your recycling program on track to meet your goals.
Michael Hess is founder and chief executive officer of Waste Harmonics, a Rochester, NY technology-enabled managed service provider in the waste industry. The company manages waste contracts and third-party vendors, and ultimately helps customers with what every business generates: waste. Customized technology-driven program solutions that address waste generator expectations and requirements, dealing with single-source management of service suppliers, quality of service, reduction of costs, data and reporting analytics, consolidated invoicing and landfill diversion. Waste Harmonics works with diverse business clients across North America to deliver cost savings, consolidation of invoicing and communications, and recycling and sustainability strategies. Michael leads Waste Harmonics’ team of waste/recycling, technology, logistics and customer service experts who manage waste and recycling services—which deliver significant costs savings—for single- and multi-location businesses in a wide range of categories, including retail, grocery, restaurant, travel center, logistics, distribution and shipping.
Prior to founding Waste Harmonics, Hess served as vice president of U.S. operations for Capital Environmental Resource Inc., a solid waste collection and disposal company with $120 million in revenue and operations in the Northeastern U.S. and Canada. During his tenure at Capital Environmental, Hess served as an integral part of the acquisition, start up and integration of 11 solid waste companies for more than two and a half years. Michael acquired Waste Harmonics from Capital Environmental in 2001 and has since grown the business from a solely Northeastern U.S. focus to serving customers throughout the U.S. and Canada. For more information, call (585) 924-9640, e-mail [email protected] or visit wasteharmonics.com.
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