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Your Business and Waste |
How waste hurts your business
 
Every kilogram of waste your business generates costs
you money, because:
- Waste
is evidence of an inefficient process. Waste essentially
represents lost resources - materials and supplies
that you paid for and are now discarding as useless.
Lost resources translate into lost profits.
- You
have to pay to have your waste collected. The
more waste you generate, the higher the removal costs.
Businesses may also pay for space to store outdated
or used items.
Why good waste management is good for
business
Reducing waste involves cutting down on the amount or
toxicity of waste in the design, manufacture, purchase
and use of materials by your business. Companies all over
the world are discovering that good waste management,
in addition to the important benefits it has for the environment
and society, also makes good business sense.
By making even a few simple changes to become more waste
efficient, you can benefit your business in the long run
by:
- Getting
more use out of material and supplies, thus reducing
both waste generation and production costs, and increasing
profit margins.
- Revenues
from marketing reusable materials and savings from
more efficient work practices.
- Enhancing
your corporate image. Customers, the public and the
business community tend to regard socially and environmentally
responsible companies more favourably.
- Demonstrating
that you are part of the growing international drive
towards resource conservation and sustainability.
- Paying
less for waste disposal.
Making your business waste-efficient
There are numerous opportunities to become more waste-efficient.
Some ideas:
Waste Minimisation Clubs
A waste mininisation club (WMC) is a group of companies,
usually in the same economic sector, which work together
to reduce their environmental impact, improve their process
efficiency and cut down on costs. The club meets regularly,
and, with the aid of specialist consultants, members exchange
ideas related to waste minimisation, thus encouraging
each other to make improvements in their operations.
The WMC concept was first developed in the Netherlands
in the early 1990's, and has since been employed successfully
in many other parts of the world. Several WMCs have
already been established in South Africa, such as the
Waste Minimisation Club for Large Companies in the Western
Cape. The latter projects combined savings of R7 million
for members.
Given the success of previously established WMCs, and
the fact that Cape Town's industrial-commercial sector
produces 50% of the area's waste, the City of Cape Town
has commissioned the BECO Institute for Sustainable
Business to establish seven additional WMCs. The aim
is to use the clubs to demonstrate to local industry
the benefits of minimising resource use and waste generation,
both for the participating company and the environment.
The new WMCs are in the following areas:
- Plastics
industry
- Abattoirs
- Civic Centre
- Blue Route
Shopping Mall
- Retail
motor industry
- Atlantis
Industria
- Construction
and demolition
Specialist consultants conduct an assessment of a member
company's process and waste generation, and make recommendations
as to improvement and savings potential. Students may
also be allocated to help identify and resolve waste
problems and process inefficiencies.
Improvement options focus firstly on reducing resource
use and waste generation at source, then on reuse and
recycle options, and finally improved final waste treatment
and disposal. The emphasis is therefore on the process
rather than on the waste.
Participating companies pay an annual membership fee
of R1000 to R4000, depending on the number of employees.
Savings for participating companies are typically from
2-7% of turnover. For more information, contact BECO
at 021 689 7117.
Waste Exchanges
Many businesses are participating in "waste exchange"
programmes, which involve the trading, selling or donation
of materials that would otherwise be discarded. Joining
an exchange programme is an excellent way to find new
uses for used materials, and can also be cost-effective
for your business.
The Integrated Waste Exchange (IWE) works by matching
"waste material generators" with "waste
material users" i.e. companies that produce certain
waste items are matched with those that can use such
items. The IWE is offered as a free service to all South
African businesses.
To learn how to get listed on the IWE, and to read
about some local and international corporate waste exchange
success stories, log onto www.capetown.gov.za/iwe/
Paper Cuts
Paper is one of the largest components of your solid
waste stream, and a relatively easy area with which
to begin waste reduction. There are numerous simple,
common-sense ways to cut down and save on office paper
use. For example:
- Duplexing,
the technical term for "using both sides of the
paper", saves money on buying paper and on storage
and postage. It is also easier to fold and staple.
- Image
Reduction and Avoidance: content of certain pages
is reduced or not printed at all. For example, information
on fax or printer cover sheets is usually unnecessary
or can be included in the main document.
- Making
electronic copies accessible. When an electronic
database or document is more "accessible"
than a paper version, people often choose to print
less.
For more good ideas about paper reduction in the office,
see the comprehensive site Cutting Paper http://eetd.lbl.gov/Paper/
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