Millions of tons of waste is disposed of all around the world, each and every week. And commercial and industrial businesses do contribute a significant amount of that total, not just households. Because of the large burden that all of this waste places on our environment (as well as economy), then steps need to be taken to reduce the amount of waste that is being generated and just being sent off to landfill. Which is why households, but in this instance businesses, need to take steps to reduce their waste. Not only can reducing waste help the environment, but it can also help your business too. Business waste a lot of money on wastage each year, where products get spoiled or things get left out of date. 

So with all of that in mind, here are some strategies that can help to reduce waste in your business, reduce wastage of your inventory, and help to save the environment, as well as save your business money. 

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• Reducing Waste Production

One of the most direct ways to cut out some of your disposal costs is with source reduction. This is all about reducing the amount of waste that your business produces. But it is a simple thing that you will have less to get rid of, if you start off with less in the first place. You can also look for better ways of keeping things in good condition. Do you need better storage to stop things getting damaged, as that just results in wasted products and wasted money? How about using something like a bale wrapper if you have an agricultural business to help keep things like hay fresh? Look at your business and see what is needed to stop accidental waste. So by analyzing the waste stream of your business, you will probably find that you can get rid of a lot of the waste that your business produces.

• Reusing Waste Material

Reusing products that you have in their present form is something that is a cost-efficient way of reducing waste. It tends to be cheaper to clean or even repair products so that they can be reused, rather than needing to recycle or worse, buying more and more.

• Recycling

A lot of the things that your business uses or does, can’t be reused, cut out, or recycled. Energy and natural resources, for example, are saved, and environmental pollution is reduced when we look to make products from recycled materials rather than new materials. So think about the materials that you bring in and use in your business, as you can cut plenty of disposal costs by a lot, if you’re able to recycle. 

• Composting

A large amount of the waste that your business creates, will consist of quite a number of organic materials, which will include things like food scraps and bits from the outdoors. These things can cost a lot to get rid of, because of their weight, so that is where composting could come in, as it is something you can set up for yourself, for free.