Fact Sheet: Waste Reduction - Getting Started

Office of Waste Reduction Services
State of Michigan
Departments of Commerce and Natural Resources

December 1989
#8902A

Whether your business has two employees or two thousand, waste reduction is an achievable goal with many associated benefits. Realizing those benefits, however, begins with selecting the waste reduction alternatives that are right for your company.

Policies and Goals

Successful waste reduction begins with a commitment to reduction policies and goals. Support and direction from top management are critical to the development of company-wide waste reduction policies. Include a waste reduction hierarchy in your policy development. Examine all waste streams for source reduction, reuse and recycling or composting potential - in that order.

• Priority one is a source reduction - the elimination of solid and hazardous wastes at their point of generation. This includes reducing the toxicity of waste by eliminating the use of highly toxic chemicals in manufacturing and seeking less chemically-intensive processes for the future. It also includes solid waste reduction options such as reduction changes to reduce the creation of scrap. Source reduction also includes consideration of the disposal of the products you produce. This includes reducing excess packaging and improving reusability and recyclability of your products.

• Prevention of waste is the ultimate and perhaps most cost-effective waste management strategy.

• Reuse materials whenever possible. This might include using reusable containers rather than those deigned for one-time use.

• Recycle or compost to reduce waste and recover valuable materials. These approaches should be considered after source reduction and reuse.

• Establishment of waste reduction goals. A goal of "zero waste" is something to work toward. A zero waste goal targets all wastes for reduction.
  
• Making waste reduction part of doing business, just as worker safety and production quality are. This includes involving and educating employees, as well as communicating with suppliers and clients.

Guidance and Review

Get the backing of top management as waste reduction policies and goals are established to ensure successful implementation. Also, involve the individuals who will be most affected by operational changes, including maintenance staff, materials handling personnel and purchasing employees. At one Michigan auto parts manufacturer, a "quality circle team" developed an office paper recycling plan. The program's success led to management support for plant-wide waste reduction efforts. Members of the team included representatives from all areas of the business' operations. The same type of broad employee participation has been critical to success at many firms.

Select a waste task force or committee. This is a vital step for reviewing waste reduction and recycling alternatives, overseeing program development, recommending an action strategy and monitoring program implementation.

This group should meet on an ongoing basis to identify new ways to reduce waste and develop new programs. Waste is an ever-changing commodity. As new materials such as plastic packaging find their way into your waste basket, you will need to continually identify new ways to handle materials.

Program Development

Planning for waste reduction begins with prioritizing waste streams on the basis of toxicity, volume, cost and ability to segregate materials.

As you develop a reduction plan, consider adopting an incremental approach to reduction, where the waste item that is easiest to recycle or reduce is targeted first. For example, corrugated cardboard is generally easy to separate from other waste for recycling. A thoroughly waste audit or assessment is always important, however, in order to characterize waste streams and determine volumes and recycling potential of various materials. Other planning approaches could include targeting the highest volume waste material, or the most hazardous waste material.

As waste streams are assessed for reduction potential, develop accounting systems that calculate the true cost of disposal and recognize benefits of waste reduction. This means going beyond handling, transportation, treatment and disposal costs. Lost revenue of materials that could have been sold as recyclables should be included in accounting systems, as well as the value of the wasted input material.

Don't overlook opportunities for reducing waste at the point of generation (source reduction). You can increase operating efficiency by substituting materials or changing processes so that fewer waste materials are produced. Examples of source reduction include replacing disposable materials with reusable and recyclable materials or switching to returnable containers.

Planning for Implementation

A company-wide memo describing waste policies and goals will help kick off your waste reduction program. Solicit employee involvement, especially if you are planning a program that will require widespread employee participation, such as an office paper collection program. Often, employee volunteers can serve as "waste basket watchdogs," assisting with new employee orientation, distribution of collection containers and general trouble-shooting. Employee involvement can be encouraged through the use of incentives. Employees might be offered the opportunity to suggest changes that can result in company savings. A portion of these savings could be passed back to the employee or his or her department.

Employee education and participation is critical to program success. Those who must change how they handle materials will need guidelines and training. Provisions must be made to continue these educational efforts into the future to anticipate personnel turnover.

Develop a weekly or monthly waste report to monitor the success of the program, provide employee feedback and identify problem areas. Of course, the real proof of success will show up in empty waste dumpsters and reduced disposal costs.

Waste Reduction Planning Checklist

As you begin to develop a waste reduction plan for your facility, review the following checklist. It is detailed enough to make sure your main bases are covered; however, you'll want to add some of your own specific ideas.

Program Development

• Develop a written waste reduction policy supported by top management.
  
• Establish ambitious and measurable waste reduction program goals, such as a reduction of 25 percent within the first year.
  
• Identify resources for technical assistance, including the local Chamber of Commerce, trade associations, state and local agencies, equipment vendors, consultants and other businesses.
  
• Designate a waste reduction or recycling coordinator.
  
• Plan a "brainstorming" session to generate waste reduction ideas.
  
• Conduct a plant-wide waste assessment.
  
• Prioritize or rank waste handling procedures, such as source reduction, reuse, on-site recycling, off-site recycling, waste exchange, waste disposal.
  
• Identify wastes to be targeted for reduction.
  
• Evaluate alternatives, considering cost, ease of implementation, payback and benefit to environment.
  
• Identify in-house resources, such as equipment that might be necessary to implement a reduction program.
  
• Develop cost-benefit analysis which accounts for all of the costs of waste disposal.
  
• Use an accounting system that identifies waste handling, treatment and disposal expenses as direct costs of producing a product.
  
• Inform employees about your firm's waste reduction goals and how the goals will impact daily operation.
  
• Determine storage requirements for collected recyclables.
  
• Project equipment and labor costs.
  
• Identify markets for recyclable materials.
  
• Develop an implementation schedule.

Once a management strategy has been established, you can identify some general waste reduction activities which apply to a variety of waste types and will go a long way toward meeting your waste reduction goals:

• Segregate all waste streams to reduce contamination of recoverable materials.
  
• Investigate waste exchange programs for both solid and hazardous waste.
  
• Establish quality assurance/quality control procedures to reduce the generation of rejected products.
  
• Replace disposable materials with reusable and recyclable materials.
  
• Investigate the use of returnable and/or recyclable containers and pallets.
  
• Identify specific waste materials that could be recycled either on-site or off-site.
  
• Provide employee training for source separation, reuse and any other reduction activities that will require a change in behavior.
  
• Establish an incentive program which encourages personnel to suggest changes which will reduce waste.
  
• Explore the use of recovery equipment for reducing hazardous waste in the form of sludges, solvents, acids, degreasers and other wastes.
  
• Identify potential production changes which will improve efficiency.
  
• Investigate opportunities for product or ingredient substitution which will reduce the creation of hazardous waste.
  
• Purchase materials in bulk or larger containers, but purchase only what you need to avoid spoilage or obsolescence.
  
• Control inventory to reduce waste; rotate stock, using oldest purchases first.
  
• Invest in products and equipment that are durable, easily repaired and/or recyclable.
  
• Ask vendors to minimize unnecessary packaging, use recycled materials and use returnable packaging.
  
• Determine if outdated stock can be returned to suppliers for regeneration.
  
• Don't accept product samples from sales people if there is a chance the samples will become a waste which you pay to dispose.

• Target one material for reduction when getting started.
  
• Work with neighboring businesses to share balers or dumpsters, and other storage and collection containers.
  
• Initially focus on waste reduction ideas which require minimal capital investment.
  
• Involve all employees in planning and implementation.

Resource Recycling Systems, Inc.

Funded by:

The Clean Michigan Fund
Michigan Department of Natural Resources

For more information on the subject of waste reduction for business, contact the Office of Waste Reduction Services, P.O. Box 30004, Lansing, MI 48909; (517) 335-1178.