Count the Ways You Can Save When you Rethink Trash Removal

Trash RemovalTrash removal doesn’t have to be the dreary topic it presumes to be, especially when you start to think outside the box and consider the bigger picture. So many good things can come from rethinking your trash removal and all the things associated with it. If you have yet to reassess your business or home waste management practices, then take some time to consider the amount of waste you’re producing and where it’s going. There are some very simple ways to get started in completely making over your waste removal standards, be it at work or home.

Find Your Waste Removal Devotees

Chances are there are people in your midst who are already secretly playing the goal of garbage police, taking it upon themselves to monitor the trash can even if it is unofficial. These are going to be your go-to people in beginning the transformation of waste removal in your business, and will keep the entire project from falling on the shoulders of ownership and management. Bring a team together around the common goals of reducing waste to both save the company money on hauling costs and by recycling, as well as giving something back to the community like less pressure on your local landfills.

Where is Your Waste Coming From?

The first place to start in remaking your waste removal strategy is to figure out what your waste consists of. The easiest way to do this, especially if you’re in a large facility, is to take on a weakly waste audit challenge. Checking your waste at the end of each day will give you a much better idea of where in your production the most waste is coming from. When you know where your garbage is being produced, you can then consider ways to reduce its creation and therefore waste removal as well.

Recycle Anything You Can

Many recyclables go completely overlooked, or are simply more convenient to throw in the trash for lack of a nearby recycling bin. A great place to start in reducing your waste is to vamp up your recycling program through first, education and second, logistics. Make sure you and your employees are aware of absolutely everything that can go in the recycling. Then make sure that there are always visible recycling bins around. Cardboard is a huge (quite literally the largest volume of waste created) culprit of recyclable goods ending up in landfills, and is usually easily avoided with the right measures in place.

Reuse or Regift

A lot of your waste, you will find, may not be recyclable but might still have some purpose or use for another business in your area or perhaps a local junk collecting store for all those DIYers out there. It could surely take some extra time to get this project going in full force, but it will also help your business build ties with the community around it, and potentially give an employee an exciting new job to take hold of.

Don’t underestimate the power of reducing your waste removal costs by taking these few steps seriously. If you want to do even more you can call KenBay to learn about our state of the art trash compactors and how we can help you improve your waste management practices.

Make Life Simple and Get Your Paint Disposal Checklist

Paint Disposal

Paint disposal or storage can be a daunting task whether you’re dealing with a small home supply or an industrial facility with various paints and solvents to consider.  With just a few protocols, you can be sure that your paint disposal is always safe and environmentally sound, no matter the quantities you’re handling. Taking care of your paint disposal in the proper way will do more than just ensure the safe handling of hazardous waste, it will also save you money in long run, and reduce risk in either your workplace or home.  

Reduce Your Need for Paint Disposal

Whether you’ve recently repainted your house, or work in the autobody business and go through gallons every day, proper paint disposal is equally important to consider. But before you get to that step, there are many measures you can take to reduce the amount of waste you have when the job is done. First, make sure that you can return any unopened paint cans or spray bottles. You will not only get reimbursed and save yourself some money, but it will also ensure that the paint actually gets used instead of thrown away. Safely store some of the leftover paint in a cool dark location for touch ups, and be sure it is tightly sealed. You can even switch it into smaller airtight containers to save space or get a better seal. Properly stored paints and solvents will usually remain safe to use for up to ten years, so give them a permanent home that is out of the reach of the kids. There are also ways of re-tinting paint to use it for new or different purposes than you originally bought it for.

Leftover Paint Disposal

If there is still paint or solvents (often used for cleaning) that you cannot repurpose or save for future use, you will need to find the proper means to dispose of them. These materials are usually considered liquid hazardous waste, so they cannot go in the dumpster. Call your local waste sector to find out how you ought to handle paint disposal, which will typically involve a certain kind of airtight container for paint. It will also have to be kept separate from the rest of your waste and recycling to ensure that contamination does not occur.

Solid Waste in Paint Disposal

A paint can or spray bottle is considered empty if it has less than one inch of paint at the bottom of it. Empty the vessel by either pouring or pumping the paint out of it, and once you have done this, it is considered recyclable, in which case you take the usual measures to separate it out from landfill waste. If paint cans are a significant portion of your waste, you might want to consider investing in a trash compactor that will help you consolidate the otherwise non-pliable materials to save time and money on your recycling efforts. A trash compactor will reduce the size of your waste at a rate of six to one.

When tackling your paint disposal process, keep these things in mind. If you’re dealing with paint disposal on a large scale, call KenBay for an expert opinion on your particular waste management needs.

Food Manufacturing has Unique Waste Management Needs

Food ManufacturingThe food manufacturing industry is one of the biggest producers of waste out there, weighing in at an almost unbelievable 7.1 billion pounds annually. Of the largest food manufacturing organizations in existence – like grocery stores and international chain restaurants – the majority of this waste is diverted from landfills. With the food waste itself, there are many avenues to follow in order to reduce the amount that goes in the trash, but packaging is the real kicker. There isn’t a way to avoid packaging when you’re working in food manufacturing, so it’s time to find the most efficient way to dispose of it. First, let’s look at ways to repurpose food waste.

Recycle Food Waste

If you have foods that are not yet inedible, but rather just a tad past the date that you’re comfortable selling them, look for shelters in the area that take donations and get that food into someone’s belly. With all the hungry people in our country, it’s a shame that any food goes to waste. When food does pass the point of being edible for humans, consider animal feed. There are plenty of farmers around you who would gladly take your gallons of scraps and old food to feed their livestock. If you haven’t already considered a collaboration with farmers, many businesses work on trade in this way with their producing counterparts. Compost is another great use for food scraps, and farmers would probably be just as glad to add your food waste to their compost piles to get their fields growing.

Recycle & Reuse

When it comes to packaging, the first step should be to recycle and reuse whatever you can. Buckets and other containers are great for both freezer and cooler storage, and are typically quite durable. When you’ve used them until they’re falling apart, make sure they make it into the recycling bin where they will be broken down and made into other products, instead of in the trash where they will end up in the landfill. Most people aren’t aware that most plastic wrapping can also be recycled. Whether it’s the bags that your veggies come in or the plastic wrap you used to seal something up, get it all in that recycling bin.

Compact It

Now let’s talk trash compaction. Trash compactors are ideal for the food manufacturing industry. The RotoPac SacPac, made by KenBay, is designed specifically for food manufacturing, and will reduce your waste by six times, and take up no more room in your facility than a standard pallet. Made completely out of stainless steel, they will also stay sanitary. How many trash bags of loosely packed plastic wrapping have you thrown away? Why waste your trash can space and pay for waste removal in such an inefficient way? When your waste is sufficiently compacted, your waste removal will be less frequent and more efficient, and end up saving you money.

Don’t take waste management in your food manufacturing facility lightly. A well thought out and efficient system will make all the difference in both your production and the cleanliness of your space. For more information on the incredibly feasible option of purchasing a trash compactor for food manufacturing, call KenBay.

Save the Planet When You Minimize Waste Removal

Minimize WasteDid you know that 7.6 billion tons of industrial waste is shipped to landfills in the United States each year? That’s a lot of garbage. What’s your contribution to that number? Although it is just a tiny fraction of those billions of pounds of waste being produced in this country, everybody can do their part to decrease the growing landfills in America by taking a few small steps to minimize waste, no matter what industry you’re in. Not only will your efforts to minimize waste be of great service to the environment, but they will also have financial and social benefits as well.

Here are some simple ways to minimize waste production:

Establish a Waste Management Team

If you don’t already have people in your place devoted to helping you minimize waste in your industrial facility, that is a great place to start. Be sure to find a group of like-minded people who are invested in pursuing the fiscal, social and environmental benefits to less waste production. Self-starters who are generally trusted in the workplace will be perfect to spur on the team mindset you need to get your employees educated and motivated around this common goal. Your new waste management plan will set standards within the workplace for what waste is and how it is handled.

Waste Mapping

Make sure that your facilities are as logically organized as possible so that you can easily identify all materials and waste products. Have your team work on optimizing all your workflows and spaces so that production and materials are easily defined. This will help you to analyze where you can cut out processes that might be producing excess or unnecessary waste. A better-ordered work environment also means that your waste will be more easily segregated for removal, which is one of the best ways to cut down on removal costs. Better workflows will also help your employees be more productive, and spend less time dealing with waste, which in turn will increase your productivity levels, and decrease payroll losses.

Recycle Reduce Reuse

Take advantage of the fact that the current workforce was raised on recycling. All you need to do is give them the specifics of which waste products can be recycled and how, and they’ll return to old habits. All you have to do is set up a convenient system and you’ll be saving money while you minimize your waste. If there are any waste products that can simply be cleaned up and reused, it can often be worth the time to do so. Don’t assume that it isn’t worth looking into it.

Do your research and make informed waste management decisions. It’s the only way you’ll manage to minimize waste in your facility. Companies don’t achieve close to zero waste by staying the same. They have to innovate and get creative by changing things up, challenging their employees, and putting in some extra leg work to see where improvements can be made. In the long run, they’re helping more than just their wallets.   

If you want to learn more about waste management methods that will work for your business, call KenBay to learn more.