Minimise waste and cut costs
December 1st 2005

How often do you take the time to think about the actual costs associated with the waste your organisation generates?

Most of us underestimate how much waste actually costs us. This is because the true cost of waste is not just the cost of disposal, but also includes wasted energy, water, raw materials and labour. In fact, the real cost of waste can actually soar to between five and twenty times more than the average forecasted cost of disposal, and be draining as much as ten per cent of your company's turnover.

In an ever competitive economic climate, with waste legislation moving up the corporate agenda and disposal costs rising annually, few organisations can afford to be complacent about waste.

In light of the new regulations and taxes, it should pay UK businesses to become more informed and, if necessary, change the way in which waste is managed.

Taking action now could help to avoid future financial penalties.

The challenge facing not just business and public sector organisations, but also all of us as individuals, is to move from a culture of waste disposal to one of waste minimisation. The lack of an appropriate waste management culture can cost companies heavily, not only in terms of monetary losses, but also potentially when it comes to winning new business and building customer relationships.

There are a number of positive steps that are necessary in order to both minimise waste and realise the full cost-saving potential of becoming more resource efficient.

Envirowise's waste hierarchy (see fig 2) provides a framework within which the most desirable waste management options are set out. It identifies possible waste options and ranks them in order of increasing environmental impact. The aim is to work your way through the hierarchy from the 'eliminate level' until you are left with no alternative option but to dispose of your waste.

The greatest cost savings occur at the top of the hierarchy. These come from reducing the purchase of materials and utilities that are wasted. All companies should aim to eliminate waste from the outset, but if this is not practical or possible, then you should at least consider reducing, re-using or recycling waste.

The waste hierarchy:

Eliminate: avoid generating potential waste. Waste that is not created in the first place does not need to be reused, recycled or disposed of, and is therefore the most environmentally desirable option.

Reduce: minimise the amount of waste you produce. Businesses can potentially reduce the amount of waste they produce by making informed choices about what to buy and how much packaging to accept.

Re-use: use items as many times as possible. Waste re-use involves the multiple use of a product in its original form, with or without reconditioning, for its original or an alternative purpose, eg. refilling plastic bottles or recharging batteries.

Recycle: recycle what you can only after you have re-used it, then, if possible, use waste materials in manufacturing other products. In this way, value is recovered and waste becomes a useful input into another process.

Dispose: dispose of waste in a responsible manner. This is only an option if none of the other options are appropriate. Incineration without energy recovery is not normally considered to be a viable option.

Organisations can take advantage of a free Envirowise FastTrack visits to help them (use the enquiry bar below). Organising a confidential visit from an Envirowise industry specialist means you will be able to access free expert advice on how best to reduce waste, increase resource efficiency and potentially boost profits. Envirowise will work with your company to produce a tailored waste minimisation plan, including suggested actions and savings targets, which in many cases has resulted in savings of up to £1000 per employee per year.

With the pressure increasing on many businesses to improve their environmental performance, moving towards a culture of waste minimisation will help to demonstrate good environmental practice and should also pay financial dividends.

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