10 ways to reduce your waste management costs
Waste disposal costs can easily mount up. Thankfully, there are steps you can take to reduce waste costs and in some cases add new revenue streams. Here’s ten potential ways to reduce your waste management costs.
1. Review and eliminate unnecessary waste
The first step towards reducing waste management costs is a review of your sources of waste. Are there any that could be eliminated, or at least reduced in your business? For example, could you switch to paperless processes, or could any category of waste be reused, or utilised for longer? Eliminating, reusing or reducing waste wherever possible, is the first route to significant cost savings.
2. Segregate and recycle waste where possible
Improving waste segregation can increase the ease and efficiency of recycling. Systems such as the Knapzak allow simple and easy separation of waste streams.
3. Reduce organic waste volume
Once you have eliminated unnecessary sources of waste and recycled where possible, there’s much more you can do to reduce the volume and associated cost of remaining waste.
For example, organic waste can be significantly reduced in volume by dewatering. The Vincent Screw Press removes liquid from a wide variety of fibrous waste materials, including waste from produce, the food industry and paper mills.
4. Reduce polystyrene waste volume and release value
EPS (expanded polystyrene) waste can be reduced in volume (at a ratio of 50:1) using a Runi screw compactor. This turns EPS into stackable blocks that can be easily stored and then sold to recyclers.
5. Reduce wood volume
Likewise, a shredder can significantly reduce volume of wood waste, such as broken wood pallets.
6. Turn food waste to into valuable power
Using a bio-processor can reduce food waste volume by up to 80%, turning it into fuel that powers biomass burners. As well as reducing volume and cost, the fuel could potentially power your business!
7. Pelletise waste to increase value
Certain types of waste can also be pelletised to increase their value. For example, pellets can be created from organic waste and sold for use as a natural fertiliser.
8. Increase efficiency by weighing your bales
Knowing the weight of bales of waste, can result in a number of cost efficiences. By recording the exact weight of bales using a system such as IntelliBale, you can manage your logistics more effectively and accurately. This allows you to reduce fuel costs, optimise resources and create more accurate forecast revenues from recyclables.
9. Separate liquids from packaging
Separate liquids from PET bottles and aluminum cans with a Dewatering Depackaging machine such as the RUNI SK240. This will optimise the recyclable value of the containers and at the same time reduce the size of the waste – saving costs on storage and transportation.
10. Reduce volume of waste to save on transportation costs
Finally, nearly all types of remaining waste can be baled; reducing size and saving on transportation costs. From cans to cars, to cardboard to crops – PRM Waste have a baling solution for them all.