Oftentimes at an operational level, the old saying "If it aint broke, don't fix it" can be a guiding principal. For some instances, that may be the case, but when it comes to your waste and recycling, you could be missing operational improvements, or even leaving money on the table.
There are several factors that could come into play when reviewing your waste stream. For instance, two years ago when your manufacturing business was still ramping up production, your cardboard material may have been going into a compactor box, this typically would be a cost to the company to service this equipment. Flash forward two years, your company is booming, and what was 1-2 tons a month of cardboard is now 20 tons a month. This high volume of material can be turned into a monthly revenue stream simply by installing different equipment on site.
Relationship complacency between the client and the recycler can also be a revenue killer. While maintaining good relationships with your recycling services provider is wonderful. You as the client should be periodically reviewing rebate prices, and understand why those rebate prices are what they are. Recycling service providers sometimes put a client on autopilot when it comes to service and pricing. If the market goes up for a certain commodity, they may not always increase your rebate, this is not always an intentional act but left unchecked, your company could be missing out on thousands of dollars in rebates.
Another common thing we see when auditing waste for our clients is the dreaded "auto run" that is set up for trash compactor boxes and roll off boxes. Operational staff will sometimes set this up as way to keep things easy on site but may not understand the cost associated with the service. If your trash roll off is set up to be automatically serviced on a weekly basis,(let's say for example Monday and Thursday), then you as the client are likely being charged a haul rate, and disposal rate, regardless of the amount of trash that is in the container. Making simple adjustments such as switching to an "on call" basis, or even down to switching once a week, can drastically reduce your waste disposal cost.
These are just a few examples that show the important need to audit, understand, and ultimately improve your waste and recycling program. S&F Development offers auditing services to our clients, complete with market insights and recommendations for improvement. Oftentimes, we are able to achieve improved rebates or cost savings without our clients even having to change vendors.
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