&EPA
EPA/530-K-92-005
November 1993
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5306)
Waste Prevention
Pays Off
Companies Cut Waste
in the Workplace
Printed with vegetable-based ink
on paper containing at least 50% recycled fiber.
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Waste
Prevention
Pays Off
Companies Cut Waste
in the Workplace
any businesses across the country
are implementing waste
prevention strategies with great
success. Waste prevention, also
known as source reduction, is the
design, manufacture, purchase, or
use of materials or products to
reduce the amount or toxicity of
what is thrown out. Unlike
recycling, which is used to
manage materials that would
otherwise become waste, waste
prevention methods help create
less waste in the first place. Waste
prevention also generally avoids
the additional energy and
resources needed to process
materials for recycling.
Producing less waste makes good
business sense. Some companies
actually have saved millions of
dollars a year by implementing a
few simple waste prevention
measures. By cutting down on
the amount and/or toxicity of the
waste your business generates,
you often can save money,
increase productivity, attract
customers, and help protect the
environment.
While your program will be
tailored to your company's
unique needs and
characteristics, a great deal can
be learned from the experiences
of other businesses. This
booklet describes the successful
waste prevention efforts of a
large computer firm, a defense
contractor, an ice cream
company, and a variety of other
businesses. Their efforts are
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organized according to eight basic
waste prevention strategies:
II Using or manufacturing minimal
or reusable packaging.
B Using and maintaining durable
equipment and supplies.
• Reusing products and supplies.
D Reducing the use of hazardous
components.
Using supplies and materials
more efficiently.
Composting yard trimmings on
site.
I Exchanging, selling, or giving
away unneeded goods or
materials.
I Eliminating unnecessary items.
Benefits of Waste Prevention for Businesses
r
There are many environmental benefits from waste pre-
| vention. Avoiding waste slows the depletion of natural re-
t sources, conserves valuable landfill space, and cuts down
I on the pollution associated with the manufacture of cer-
i tain products. In addition, waste prevention offers busi-
\ nesses further advantages, including:
I • Economic advantages. Potential economic advantages of waste
1 prevention include reduced waste disposal fees, savings in material
1 and supply costs, revenues from marketing reusable materials, and
I savings from more efficient work practices.
f • Enhanced corporate image. Your enhanced corporate image as
! an environmentally conscious company might attract customers.
I Surveys show that more and more consumers consider a firm's
[ environmental record when making purchasing decisions.
"
• Improved employee morale. Your employees may appreciate
your company's efforts to prevent waste. This heightened morale
could increase employee enthusiasm and productivity.
• Compliance with local or state solid waste regulations.
Some states and localities in the United States require businesses
to take steps to reduce or recycle their solid waste. Some
communities also restrict the amount or types of waste accepted
at solid waste management facilities. By implementing an
aggressive waste prevention program, your business can help
ensure compliance with these requirements.
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By demonstrating some of the
many ways in which waste can be
prevented, examples in this booklet
can provide a springboard for your
own program. In addition, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) has developed a
comprehensive handbook called
Business Guide for Reducing Solid
Waste, offering step-by-step
suggestions for designing and
implementing a waste prevention
program. Ordering information is
included at the back of this booklet.
EPA's Business Guide for Reducing Solid Waste
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M/aste Prevention
1
Using or
manufacturing minimal
or reusable packaging.
In 1990, containers and packaging accounted for
about one-third — over 64 million tons — of the
total amount of municipal solid waste generated
in the United States (by weight). Because
packaging can make up a substantial portion of
the waste a company generates, it is a llogical
starting place to target waste prevention
efforts. Businesses can take a variety of
approaches to reducing or preventing packaging
waste. One idea is to start at the source by
encouraging suppliers to offer products with
reduced or minimal packaging. Choosing
products that come in reusable packaging or that
are offered in bulk quantities also are options.
Companies can examine packaging used for their
own products, as well, to determine whether it is
possible to ship merchandise in returnable or
reusable containers or to use fewer layers of
packaging materials.
4
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In 1989, Digital Equipment
Corporation of Maynard,
Massachusetts, a worldwide
supplier of networked computer
systems, software, and services,
initiated a waste management
program for the packaging used
by its manufacturing facilities.
Digital's highest priority for this
ongoing program is prevention
of the'waste associated with
packaging materials from all
aspects of its business. For
example, Digital redesigned the
protective packaging used to
ship computer enclosures (the
metal cabinets which hold large
computers), reducing its volume by
nearly on&third and saving an
estimated $300,000 in material,
labor,-and shipping costs in one
year. The company also began
using reusable rolling bakery racks
in place of disposable packaging
materials to transport fabricated
sheet metal parts from outside
suppliers to Digital
manufacturing plants. In one
facility alone, this action has
reduced packaging waste by an
estimated 100 tons per year
and saved approximately
$200,000 annually in
packaging materials costs.
T
Keepers,
Losets
State Farm Mutual Automotive
Insurance Company, a large
national insurance company
based in Bloomington, Illinois, also
has taken steps to reduce the
amount of packaging used during
the.transport of its products and
materials. The company used to
send out more than 150,000
individually shrink-wrapped
packets of a particular set of forms
•to its regional offices. The firm now
assembles packets containing five
sets of forms, avoiding the use of
120,000 wraps and saving the
company $15,600 in purchase
costs annually. In addition, the
company has eliminated the use of
50,000 shrink-wraps when shipping
handbooks to its offices. This
packaging change maintains
sufficient protection of the books
and saves the company an
additional $7,500 per year. The
company also has achieved
significant cost savings by
implementing a policy of
double-sided copying and reuse
of three-ring binders, packing
materials, and shipping pallets. In
just one year, the company saved
over $22,000 in reduced
purchasing costs through the
reuse of pallets at its corporate
headquarters.
backpacking
State Farm also posts flyers to remind employees to reduce and reuse.
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Stewart's Ice Cream
Company, with more than 200
shops in New York and Vermont,
has been using refillable glass
soda bottles and plastic milk
bottles for nearly 30 years. The
milk bottles are reused an average
of 50 times before they must be
replaced; the soda bottles can be
reused approximately 20 times.
The company saves 14 cents
every time it reuses a soda bottle
and 5 cents when it reuses a
half-gallon milk bottle. With sales
of more than 12 million bottles of
soda and milk annually, this
program has generated significant
savings for the company. In
another effort to cut back on
waste, Stewart's has initiated a
program with a local school in
which refillable plastic milk
containers are being used in place
of wax-coated paper cartons.
These bottles can be reused
approximately 100 times before
At Stewart's, returned bottles are cleaned and sterilized.
being replaced. This allows the
school to avoid the cost of
disposing of the 700,000 cartons
a year it generated before the
switch to refillables. The school
also has reduced its purchasing
costs, since it no longer needs to
buy the plastic straws that were
needed for the paper cartons.
I
. before being refilled and resold.
6
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2
Using and maintaining
durable equipment
and supplies.
Because purchasing equipment and supplies is
a major capiital expense, most businesses
carefully consider price when making these
purchasing decisions. Another significant
consideration is the quality and durability of a
particular item. Superior-performance
products are often a worthwhile investment
because they can help employees do the job
better, with fewer breakdowns and delays. In
addition, because these items stay out of the
waste stream longer, the higher initial costs
might be offset further by lower maintenance,
disposal, and replacement costs. Regular
maintenance schedules for machines also will
help extend their useful lives, cutting back on
the amount of waste produced and the need to
replace expensive equipment. Moreover, when
equipment wears out, companies should
consider the alternatives before automatically
discarding it. It might be possible to repair
the equipment, sell or donate it to another
organization, or recycle its spare parts.
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Waste Prevention Yields! Comfortable Savings for
; Michigan Furniture Manufacturer '
:. Facing an economic recession and tough international competition ]
ilHerman'Miller, Inc., a Michigan furniture mariufacture7;turfiedlo waste "|
,i i preventionas a way to save "rribneyi" With a'corporate etfitclfiat
i- encourages environmental protect
management, Herman Miller, inc.'s waste prevehtibh measures'were
I
—I
;;: Mtich of Herman Miller, Inc.'s program focused o^njtspacR
applying two of the eight basic waste prevention 'principles: reduce and
._ „_ l
rgU!gg; yj^g -'-"—y,'^'^ ^.^^g .^g^ . . ..^
i to use fewer packaging materials while still adequately protecting the I
BM* if i mi* n 9 j,i ih * j m it ^ AtM^M^sUili.^sM, V [lA*"^1'4!* •***+•" L i *" •" 4 "" ="
~,, fqrnjture. Certain large, sturdy furniture products now are shipped
I "cartonless," covered in a recyclable plastic film wrappedjwer molded .
I" cardboard edges. For one product, using cartonTess packaging saves "
the company $250,000 per year and cuts waste byTO pefceht. For
anotherproduct, one of tVie company's"61gges1"se!Te'tB7tTie"cpmpany
sa\/es an estimated $1.1 million annually. f pi r > «„ r
A'second way the company cut packaging to a minimum involved
„ Improving the design of a product that tended to damage easily during
i' shipping. The new, redesigned piece hot only'fe*quires less "padding
^ during transportation," But also costs Iess't6*rna*k"er*' J_ J*^**r* * ^" "
^ Herman Miller, Inc.'s commitment to...reducingjMcRagJn^e')dends
* beyond its own" shipping'department to Its vendors. The c6mpany*Ras j
1^ negotiated waste prevention agreements with some of its vendors, |
|ii Including a deal with a. vendor that sells molded plastic chair seats to |
E replace It's single-use'disposable1"shipping Fo'xes^wTtrrreusaBfe"'1' -*•*'•" -*—"v
i= containers. Made of recyclable materials, the container's cardboard :
'" sleevre and plastic top and bottom can be disassembled, stacked, and
P reused 80 to 100 times. This change saves an~esfimated $*200,006 "
i each year in labor and packaging costs.
£ Ifl.a.cpprdinafed effort jo re^s^maferTaJSjJjej^n^Millej^Jnc.
tcosponsors an annual waste exchange fair wfth otheT^companies. At
. the fair, busjnesses trade, sell^ or^give away fheirjjnneedeB materials
s= In f991, the first fair drew more than 3*66 participants"'
f successful that attendance tripled in 1992.
FT The success of HermanT Miller, Inc.'s waste _
t the Lmportance of working together, not only within the company but with
f othej-s as well. Their tremendous savings and innovative approaches
* prove what an organization committed to waste prevention can achieve.
E ~ ~ !?~~r^~
8
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Recognizing that the durability
and superior parts of high-quality
goods can stretch the value of a
dollar, one county government
has changed its purchasing
practices. For example, rather
than buying different types of
chain saws, Itasca County,
Minnesota, now purchases only
one brand of a high-quality saw.
The purchases were approved .
after the county factored in the
potential savings from the new
saws' greater repairability and
longer life, thereby demonstrating
that the switch would meet state
and local lowest-cost procurement
regulations. In addition, instead of
automatically discarding saws that
are no longer in working order, the
county salvages parts that are still
in good condition. These parts
then are reused as replacement
parts for other saws. This strategy
saves money by limiting the
number of new saws and
replacement parts the county
must purchase.
Simple repairs often can help
extend the lives of durable
equipment and supplies.
Repairing and reusing shipping
pallets is a strategy that Wilton
Industries, a cake-decorating
supplies distributor in Woodridge,
Illinois, is using to reduce waste
and save money. Until recently,
Wilton, like many other
companies, disposed of incoming
pallets and purchased new ones
to ship its own products. The
company paid more than
$100,000—about $7 apiece—for
approximately 14,000 new pallets
each year. In 1992, Wilton
embarked on a program to repair
and reuse as many pallets as
possible. To avoid disposing of
the remainder, the company now
sells badly damaged pallets and
pallets that cannot be reused
because of their size to a pallet
repair firm for $1. It then pays $3
to $4 each for repaired pallets of
the correct size. The company
now spends just $38,000 annually
for its pallets, a savings of over
$62,000. In addition, Wilton
estimates it is avoiding another
$2,400 in expenses each year, the
amount it used to pay to dispose
of its waste pallets.
Another company that found a
way to reuse shippers' pallets is
Arcata Graphics of Baltimore,
Maryland. Arcata, a book printing
company, asked its suppliers to
use pallets of a specific size and
construction for shipments so that
the company could reuse them for
book deliveries. Arcata estimates
that this initiative saves $200,000
annually—money that would
otherwise be required to purchase
new pallets.
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3
Reusing products
and supplies.
In the field, office, and factory, many common
items—from cafeteria trays to laser printer
toner cartridges— are designed to be used
more than once. Reuse can help extend the
lives of products and supplies, thereby
reducing both purchasing and disposal costs.
In addition, reuse is often one of the simplest
and most inexpensive waste prevention
strategies a company can implement. For
many businesses, it is worthwhile to perform a
company-wide inventory of products and
supplies that potentially can be reused.
Employees often will have good suggestions.
By identifying these materials, businesses can
take advantage of a host of waste prevention
opportunities within their companies.
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One company that has reaped
tremendous savings through reuse
is Bell Communications
Research (Bellcore), a major
communications firm based in
Livingston, New Jersey. Bellcore,
which has six office locations and
employs 7200 people, saves over
$300,000 each year by
implementing numerous waste
prevention measures. The
company has instituted several
successful reuse methods, such
as reusing:
Lunchroom trays. In the firm's
cafeteria, durable, reusable trays
have been substituted for
single-use trays, saving over
$40,000 each year in purchasing
costs. Costs to wash the trays are
estimated to be minimal (about
$1,000 to $2,000), since the
company already washes other
cafeteria dishware and did not
need to invest in dish washing
equipment. Labor costs have
changed little, if at all, since the
company no longer needs to
unpack a large quantity of
disposable trays each day.
Three-ring binders. In the
company stockrooms, a policy for
reusing three-ring vinyl binders has
been established. The
stockrooms give away old binders
at no cost to departments, but
charge for new binders. This
reuse incentive saves $9,000
yearly in purchasing costs.
Interoffice envelopes. Each
year interoffice envelopes are
reused as many as 39 times,
saving the company $1,000
annually.
Laser printer toner
cartridges. Approximately 5,200
toner cartridges are reused each
year, as well. Remanufactured
cartridges cost about $50 less than
new ones, saving about $260,000
in purchasing costs and nearly
$1,200 in disposal costs annually.
Reusable mugs. To reduce the
use of disposable cups, Bellcore
now offers reusable mugs to
employees at cost and employees
receive a 5-cent discount on
coffee or tea at the company
cafeteria each time that they use
them. This saves the firm
approximately $30,000 in
purchasing costs annually.
Bellcore's reusable mug, featuring the company's
waste prevention mascot.
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In Minnesota, employees of the
Itasca County Road and
Bridge Department replaced
disposable forced-air filters with
fully reusable filters in the
Department's garages. The switch
to reusable filters reduces the
amount of waste going to the
landfill and saves over $4,700 in
purchasing costs each year. The
county estimates that this change
requires no additional labor-while
more labor is required to clean the
reusable filters, less labor is
required for stocking and disposal.
Other Itasca County government
offices also have saved money, by
switching to either fully reusable
filters or to filters with reusable
frames and disposable screens.
Reusable filter frames and fully reusable filters are helping
Itasca County save thousands of dollars annually.
Even small changes can create
big savings, as proved by
Asbury Park Press, a
multimedia print and broadcast
communications corporation
headquartered in Neptune, New
Jersey. Previously, the company
used thousands of disposable rags
each week to clean its printing
presses. Each year, the firm paid a
total of $69,600 for 120,000
disposable rags. Recently, the
company decided to try cleaning its
printing presses with reusable cloth
rags. It hired a laundry service,
which cleans and delivers 3,000
rags each week. The replacement
rags have proved equally effective,
and Asbury Press pays just $31,200
each year for this service, resulting
in a savings of $38,400.
In addition to implementing
internal waste prevention efforts,
some businesses are helping their
customers reduce waste.
Hannaford Bros, of
Scarborough, Maine, which operates
a chain of approximately 90 grocery
stores across New England, offers a
3-cent discount for each plastic or
paper grocery bag returned by
customers. The program has been
quite successful, allowing
Hannaford customer to avoid
disposing of over 133,000 bags
each week. While the company
breaks even on the bags, since new
bags typically cost between 2 and
4 cents each, the recognition and
good will generated among
customers and in the community
by such efforts is invaluable.
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4
Reducing the use of
hazardous
components.
In addition to reducing the amount of solid
waste generated, companies also can reduce
waste toxicity by substituting products with
nonhazardous or less hazardous components
for certain items. For example, many products
used by graphics and maintenance
departments (such as cleaning solvents, inks,
paints, glues, and other materials) are
available with fewer or no hazardous
components. Suppliers can help direct
companies to these products.
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Often, nonhazardous substitutes
are not only available, they also
might perform better and save
money over the long term. At
the Hollywood Memorial
Hospital in Hollywood, Florida,
a biomedical engineer
recognized that the hospital's
specialized portable cardiac
monitoring and recording
equipment generated a large
number of waste batteries
containing mercury each year.
After enlisting the aid of county
environmental officials, the
engineer located an effective
substitute, a zinc-air battery,
through the equipment
manufacturer. While the
purchase price per battery is 15
cents higher, they last
significantly longer than the
mercury-containing batteries. In
1991, the last year the old
batteries were used, the hospital
disposed of over 12,000 waste
batteries, while just over 8,000
were used and disposed of in
1992. As a result, annual
hospital battery procurement
costs declined from $33,000 to
$24,000, a savings of more than
25 percent. Furthermore, the
county environmental officials
calculate that the program is
reducing the amount of mercury
in the waste stream by 342
pounds annually.
In some cases, groups of
companies and even entire
industries have adopted safer
substitutes for the products and
materials they use. Like most
other wine producers throughout
the world, wineries in
California have predominantly
used a metal foil wrap or capsule
containing lead on the tops of
their wine bottles. Concerns
over the presence of lead in the
foil, however, combined with a
growing number of state
legislative efforts to reduce the
amount of heavy metals in the
waste stream, led most of the
state's wineries to switch to new
foils. While improved substitutes
are being developed constantly,
most of the wineries have begun
using an aluminum polylaminate
foil, which has a layer of
aluminum and plastic. The
replacement foil simulates the
traditional appearance of the
lead foil and each shipment of
1,000 foils costs
approximately $25 less.
New foil wraps are helping California's wineries save
money on every bottle shipped.
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5
Using supplies and
materials more
efficiently.
In addition to offering savings in purchasing and
disposal costs, some waste prevention
strategies also can help companies streamline
their operations. By focusing more employee
time on the business at hand and less time on
generating waste, these changes not only
reduce waste and conserve materials, but could
increase productivity significantly.
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At Seagate Technology, Inc.,
an international computer
disk-drive manufacturing
company based in Scotts Valley,
California, a major effort to
increase efficiency in the
company's Scotts Valley and
Watsonville, California plants
focused on reducing the
company's seemingly endless
stream of photocopies that is
typical of such large firms. By
implementing a few time-saving
and waste-reducing measures,
Seagate cut its paper use by one
third. For example, rather than
photocopying dozens of memos
to individual employees, a single
memo is routed through each
office with a check-off list of
names attached. In addition,
Seagate invested in a
high-quality photocopier that
makes double-sided copies
automatically. The company
now purchases over 4 million
sheets fewer of paper each
year, saving $45,300 in
purchasing costs.
Another company that tightened
its operations through waste
prevention is the Washington
Suburban Sanitary
Commission, a large public
water and sewer utility in Maryland.
Instead of enclosing an envelope
for payment with each customer's
bill, the Commission now
purchases "send-'n'-return"
envelopes, used both for billing and
receiving payment. In addition to
simplifying the envelope-stuffing
procedure, roughly 1,660 cubic
feet of warehouse space was
opened up since far fewer
envelopes must now be stored
there. With over 1.5 million bills to
send annually, the Commission
now saves over $55,000 in
envelope purchasing costs each
year.
Preventing Paper Waste
I Paper is one of the largest components of most businesses'
* solid waste stream. There are many ways businesses
might be able to use paper more efficiently, depending on
their needs. Some ideas include:
•Sending messages via electronic mail instead of on "paper ;
" " ' .. ~;: v : " '.' ' ••..••":. '...'.V. :•'" •""'""'.•'.'..^"".".i "..':'...'.: 1
• Printing fewer copies of reports
• Posting memos in a central location
; •Storing computer documents on disk rather than making harcfcbpy files \
fUsing smaller fonts to' save space
?• Making notepads from scrap paper
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6
Composting yard
trimmings at your
facility.
In 199O, yard trimmings (such as cut grass,
leaves, tree limbs, and brush) accounted for
more than 118 percent of the total solid waste
in the United States. One approach that most
companies can follow to reduce this waste is
"grasscyclinig"— leaving cut grass on the lawn
instead of bagging it and shipping it to the
landfill. Companies that generate a significant
amount of yard trimmings and other organic
materials also can consider on-site composting
to reduce the amount of materials requiring
disposal. Composting is a natural process by
Which organic materials such as yard
trimmings are allowed to decompose under
controlled conditions. The result of this
process is compost, a soil-like product that
can be used as a mulch or soil amendment on
company grounds or donated to local farmers
or community organizations. Since it does not
require an extensive collection infrastructure
and typically requires fewer resources than
off-site or municipal composting, grasscycling
and on-site composting are generally
considered Ito be waste prevention efforts.
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Wilton Industries, of
Woodridge, Illinois, saves money
and time by grasscycling and
finding other creative uses for
grass clippings. Cut grass
typically is left on the lawn. But
when the grass has grown
especially high due to abundant
rainfall, the company's yard
workers spread the grass clippings
around the edge of buildings and
under hedges to control weed
growth. The company saves on
hauling fees in both cases, and
leaving cut grass on the lawn
reduces labor time.
Waste Prevention Makes the Headlines at
Minnesota Newspaper j i
Through waste prevention and recycling, the Herald Review,
which publishes a biweekly newspaper in Grand Rapids,
Minnesota, has reduced its waste by over 29,000 pounds
annually. By cutting back on waste-everything from paper
towels to reporters' notebooks— the Herald Review now saves
more than $1 8,000 a year.
The firm made a commitment to waste prevention
throughout its operations, getting department heads and
employees to work together to identify and implement a variety
of innovative waste prevention strategies.
Reporters on the beat have switched from wide-ruled to
narrow-ruled notebooks, reducing purchasing costs for new
notebooks by 50 percent. In the office, unused blank labels left
over from printing the newspaper's mailing list are used as file
labels. Toner cartridges from computer printers and
photocopiers are rebuilt and reused. In rest rooms, cloth towels
have replaced paper towels, saving $1 20 per year in avoided
disposal fees and cutting purchasing costs by one-third.
In the printing process, overruns have been decreased,
saving paper, ink, and time. Paper that is left over from
printing is sold to a local ceramics packaging firm. This
exchange benefits both companies— the Herald Review is paid
for material that otherwise would be discarded, and the
'ceramics ....... packaging "fiFm ......... receives ........ anTnexperisIve~pacT
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7
or
giving
goods or
Many companies are participating in
successful exchange programs involving the
trading, selling, or giving away of goods or
materials that otherwise would be thrown
away. Joining an exchange program is not
only a great way to find new uses for
unneeded materials, but it also can be
cost-effective—even profitable. In addition,
companies can team up with other businesses
in their community to establish their own
exchanges, pooling both their supply of
materials and their demand for offered goods.
In addition to exchange programs, companies
can consider donating excess food, used
furniture, and other materials to local
organizations, such as homeless shelters,
charities, or schools.
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Bellcore and local farmers alike benefit from the company's donation program.
Bell Communications
Research (Bellcore) donates
its cafeteria food waste to pig
,and cattle farmers for use as
animal feed. The kitchen staff
places food scraps into bins,
which are sealed and emptied
once a week by farmers.
Although the farmers are paid to
collect the food scraps, the
company still saves up to 50
percent on its regular disposal
fees for food scraps; Bellcore
also dpnates its unused, '
wrapped food left over from
banquets and conferences to a
local food bank.
2O
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Starting Your Business's Waste Prevention Program
A waste prevention program is most successful when
everyone is aware and involved. When setting up your
gwaste prevention program, remember to include:
EMTop-down support. The company management can take the
first step by setting up a waste prevention team to design and
implement an effective program. After the program is running,
managers should continue their support by endorsing program
goals and encouraging employee commitment and participation.
fr
I1
tl
I Strong leadership. A knowledgeable and motivated leader
should be appointed to oversee the waste prevention team.
This person will act as a liaison between management,
employees, and the waste prevention team. Consider
appointing the waste disposal or operations manager or an
employee who already has championed internal waste
prevention or recycling efforts.
I Goal-setting. Perform a waste assessment to collect data on
the company's current waste collection and disposal
procedures and on the types and amounts of waste produced.
From this baseline information, realistic, measurable goals can
be set for waste prevention. These goals might include
collecting revenues from the exchange of materials, enhancing
the company's corporate image, or reducing inefficiencies in
operations.
(Employee involvement. Keep employees apprised of the
program and actively encourage their participation. To
.emphasize the program's high priority, begin with an
announcement from the company's owner or chief executive
officer. After explaining the benefits and goals of the program,
ask for volunteers to help with implementation. Employees also
might have valuable suggestions. By circulating memos and
reminders periodically, employee support and participation can
be maintained. Consider offering incentive awards to
employees most committed to waste prevention.
•1
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One company that has achieved
notable success with an exchange
program is Bath Iron Works in
Bath, Maine. The company, which
manufactures ships for the U.S.
Navy, has conducted several
auctions to locate other
businesses that can reuse ,
materials it no longer needs,
including equipment, nuts and
bolts, shelving, and even materials
recovered from old buildings. The
company conducts two types of
auctions: sealed bid auctions,
which are held quarterly and
involve sending a list of items for
sale to parties on a special mailing
list; and traditional auctions, which
are held annually and conducted
by an auctioneer. The price paid
for the items auctioned varies
depending upon their condition.
For example, a floor sweeper that
the company no longer needed
sold for $4,000, and a used
squaring sheer recently sold for
$20,000. In its most recent
traditional auction, Bath Iron
Works sold goods worth
approximately $98,000
—more than double its 1991
auction earnings and almost six
times the earnings from the
1990 auction.
The Bath Iron Works annual auction helps the company sell off unneeded items, from
nuts and bolts (above) to welding masks, shovels, stepladders, and many other materials.
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8
Eliminating
unnecessary items.
Finally, don't overlook the obvious! There may
be a wide range of opportunities in your
company to reduce waste by eliminating the
use of unnecessary materials and supplies.
Typically, these are items whose use has
become routine, though they contribute little
or nothing to your product service. While
eliminating the use of individual items might
not result in tremendous savings, taken
together, these measures can be an important
part of your waste reduction program.
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At the Chateau Airport in
Calgary, Alberta, hotel staff went
looking for ways to cut back on
waste. Part of the Canadian
Pacific Hotels and Resorts
Company, the hotel was
responding to the company's
request to initiate waste reduction
measures whenever possible.
Almost immediately, examples of
unnecessary items began to turn
up. For example, the hotel had
routinely provided guests with a
guide to the local television
programs even after extensive
listings and descriptions became
available on one of the TV
channels. By simply informing
guests how to find the new
listings, the hotel was able to
eliminate the use of the weekly
guides in each of its 300 rooms.
In addition, the hotel noticed that
the lighting in its storage and
maintenance rooms, staff
hallways, and other areas was
excessive. By removing every
other light, the hotel was able to
save on electricty costs and cut
its use of fluorescent bulbs in
half. So far, the hotel has found
dozens of ways to eliminate the
use of unnecessary materials,
and it's looking for more!
For More Information
If you would like to learn more about how to implement
waste prevention in your business, order the Business Guide for
Reducing Solid Waste. This booklet provides detailed "how-to"
suggestions for businesses that are ready to embark on a waste
prevention program.
For further information on waste prevention, or to order
this guide free of charge, call:
The RCRA/Superfund Hotline at 800-424-9346 or TDD 800-
553-7672 for the hearing impaired.
For Washington, DC, and outside the United States, call
703-412-9810 or TDD 703-412-3323.
Hotline hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 7:30 p.m. EST.
You also can write to:
RCRA Information Center
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Solid Waste (OS-305)
401 M Street, SW.
Washington, DC 20460
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