How Much Ineffective Waste Management Is Costing Your Business

Businesses of all shapes and sizes are constantly looking at ways to cut down their outgoings and increase profits. Whether you are running an independent café or a national retail chain, waste management is going to be costing your business something. Many organisations could actually be saving on their waste management, because it is an area that is so often overlooked. From investing in recycling machinery to disposing of waste properly, there are many different things that fall under waste management costs.

The Real Cost Of Ineffective Waste Management

A lot of companies fail to take their waste management seriously. They have a strategy in place, and rarely review it for efficiency or improvements. This is costing millions of pounds for businesses all across the globe. For example, food waste in the hospitality sector costs an estimated £2.5 billion every single year. That works out at roughly £10,000 per hospitality business in the country. And it isn’t just hospitality and food waste that is a problem, but all sectors and industries that produce waste in one form or another.

Costs of waste management are constantly rising and failing to put an effective strategy in place will mean your outgoings will continually increase. Landfill tax has been increased annually for the last 3 years, and now sits at £96.70 per tonne, compared with £91.35 just two years ago. With an increased focus on sustainability, recycling equipment and green practices, it is expected that further environmental legislation will come into play in future.

How To Reduce Your Waste Management Costs?

Luckily, waste management doesn’t have to be an expense that you have no control over. There are plenty of ways your business can adopt a more effective strategy for handling waste and save money in the process. Some methods for cutting down your waste management costs include:

  • Auditing Your Waste: Before you can begin reducing your waste costs, you need to understand exactly what it is and where it is coming from. Once you know whether the majority of your waste is paper, plastic, food or a combination, you can find the best methods to combat this.
  • Cutting Down Your Purchases: If your audit reveals that you are throwing out a lot of materials that you don’t actually need, then you could look at removing them from your purchases. For example, if you are always disposing of excess food, consider ordering less of those products. By not overbuying, you can save money and reduce your waste.
  • Reusing And Recycling: Instead of throwing everything in the trash, consider what waste could be reused, donated or recycled. This can cut down on your landfill tax and improve your businesses sustainability. Recycling equipment can make recycling materials which are common in your business easier than ever.
  • Reducing Your Waste Space: Having a lot of waste in your business takes up a lot of physical space. Cutting down the amount of space your rubbish takes up can not only save on space on your premises but can also reduce the cost of transporting waste. Balers and compactors are great options for minimising the waste in your company.

For more information on how to effectively manage your business waste, get in touch with our team today.