The Major Types of Waste in Business and How to Dispose of Them
The several types of waste in businesses that are generated together make up a substantial portion of a large city’s refuse. It has become a major headache for municipalities and environmental agencies (especially the EPA) and several studies are in progress to better handle this growing climate emergency.
Regardless of the type of business you own, commercial waste examples are plenty. These can range from disposable paper items to hazardous chemicals. These have to be disposed of carefully and in keeping with prevalent environmental norms.
Before we get to the meat of the matter, let’s quickly run you through the importance of commercial waste management.
Why is business waste management vital?
Of the several reasons, the most essential ones are the following.
A. Reducing carbon footprints
If you ever spent a bit of time sorting through the types of waste in business in general, you would be surprised how dangerous some of them are. They pollute the air, the groundwater, block sewage outlets, and leave behind a substantial carbon footprint.
Your business needs to go green to thrive and also benefit from governmental incentives meant for such initiatives.
B. Helps improve productivity
The lower the number of business waste examples (in terms of volume, of course), the greater the probability that your employees will be motivated enough to perform better. It will also help attract new clients who are environmentally conscious.
C. Start making a difference
Legal wranglings aside, it should be your duty as a forward-thinking business owner to set examples that will influence other establishments. Teeing off with recycling is a great start. While not every waste product can be recycled, you can discuss these affairs with your local EPA office and then start taking baby steps.
Else, you can hire an agency that specializes in waste management in Pasco County, Florida to answer all your questions and solve any issue that might have been lingering for years!
The major types of waste in businesses across the US
Read on to know more about the commercial waste generated in our country.
1. General waste
A sizeable number of business waste examples include everyday rubbish which is generated in any office or factory floor during working hours. These are mostly non-recyclable and include polystyrene products, paper napkins, aluminum foil, and all sorts of papers.
These need to be segregated and disposed of in a dumpster big enough to accommodate the needs of your establishment. It is advisable that the waste be separated so that the few items that are recyclable are easily identified.
2. Food waste
This is one of America’s best-kept secrets, but the country wastes more food than any other in the world. Most of the food is ordered by businesses, picked at, and then discarded. The latest estimates show that around 1.3 billion tons of edible materials are dumped outside every year!
This huge volume is more than enough to feed a third of the world’s most impoverished people. The EPA is working on legislation to bring this epidemic under control.
There are several types of bins provided to handle such waste. From ‘animal by-product’ to ‘miscellaneous food item’ bins, the wasted food has to be disposed of properly.
This is one of the worst commercial waste examples, but it exists nonetheless.
You can draw up a waste audit plan in association with experts who work at various Pasco County waste services.
3. Hazardous waste products
These include flammable or corrosive materials including acids, alkaline substances, and a range of chemicals that can pose a risk to the environment and to human lives.
There is a common perception that hazardous materials consist primarily of spent nuclear fuel; it is also the inspiration behind the universally recognized logo that depicts hazardous waste!
In reality, fertilizer plants, sealed battery manufacturing units, factories that produce thinners, antifreeze agents, non-stick cookware ingredients like Teflon, ink, adhesives, oil-based solvents, and numerous types of acrylic paints, and even gigantic oil refineries all produce several kinds of debris in business.
There are specialized ways of treating this unproductive sludge, and these technologies are mostly built and maintained by these factories. Sometimes, they are delegated to third parties which have long-term contracts with these manufacturing units and have the essential technological prowess.
4. Clinical waste
More than 6% of the country’s total MSW (municipal sewage waste) constitutes clinical waste. From glass ampules to syringes and needles, expired medicines, gloves, PPE kits, scalpels, and various bodily fluids – there are several examples.
The percentage of clinical waste has increased over the last 2 years thanks to the pandemic.
Manufacturers, hospitals, nursing centers, and emergency healthcare departments (often set up to combat a rise in the number of Covid infections) follow guidelines laid down by the EPA and the AMA.
While these unwanted materials are segregated at the source, they are still disposed of in landfills using dumpsters. Some of them go for recycling, of course.
Thus ends a brief overview of business waste in the USA and the methods to tackle it. R&D on better and more efficient ways of getting rid of all types of useless materials continues.
