by charlotte | Jun 16, 2016
Are you looking to start or improve upon a zero landfill initiative to do your part for the conservation of our beautiful world? You’re in luck because at KenBay we are experts in helping companies achieve their zero landfill initiative goals and have all the tools you need to see it through. A zero landfill initiative does more than simply divert waste from the landfill, it will actually end up saving your company money on waste transportation, as well as improve the overall safety in your manufacturing facility.
What is a Zero Landfill Initiative?
As opposed to a zero waste initiative, which constitutes absolutely no waste or recycling, a zero landfill initiative is defined by diverting the majority of waste from the landfill in favor of producing only recyclable waste. There are three degrees of landfill initiatives to strive for, the most ambitious of which is the zero landfill initiative which constitutes that 100 percent of waste is diverted from the landfill. Then there is the virtually zero landfill initiative with diversion rates of 98 percent or higher. Finally the landfill waste diversion initiative is for companies aiming to divert at least 80 percent of their waste from the landfill. Figure out which goal is the most attainable for your company and begin taking steps towards achieving it! Reducing your landfill waste is often a process that will improve over several years so don’t try to fix it all in one month and then never think about it again. It’s a long term commitment!
5 Ways to Make Progress on Your Zero Landfill Initiative
- Work With a Waste Management Company
Waste management companies like KenBay are experts in helping organizations of all kinds reduce their waste. We can help you do everything from company-wide waste audits to find more efficient and safer production practices, as well as provide new equipment that will help you reduce the volume of your waste.
- Perform Consistent Waste Audits
There is no way of knowing how to reduce your waste if you don’t know where it’s coming from and what kind of waste it is. You need to track your waste throughout every aspect of your business in order to make a targeted plan to both reduce and eliminate certain waste streams.
- Think Both Short and Long Term
The necessity of having both a short and long term plan for achieving your zero landfill initiative is absolutely crucial to seeing results. You won’t be able to make huge amounts of progress right away, so make sure you have actionable small goals through which you can measure progress to keep yourself and the rest of the company motivated towards the long term goals. Honda has been working towards their zero landfill initiative for over a decade!
- Buy a Trash Compactor
Trash compactors have the ability to reduce your waste volume at a rate of six to one meaning that, if you are still producing landfill waste, you can significantly reduce the space it will take up in the landfill as well as your own hauling costs. The same trash compactors can also be used for recycling, achieving the same ends for recycling centers.
- Use Biodegradable Bags
A great way to work towards your zero landfill initiative is to use biodegradable bags that will disintegrate over time, leaving one less plastic bag in the recycling center or landfill. This is a small and easy measure to take towards achieving your goals.
A zero landfill initiative is a worthwhile goal for your organization, no matter what industry you are in. If you want to know more about how a waste management company can help you achieve a zero landfill initiative, give KenBay a call!
by charlotte | Jun 10, 2016
Waste removal is something business owners don’t often consider since they aren’t responsible for doing it. Oftentimes when paying for a service, especially from the city, it’s easy to forget that, and the end of the day, we have a stake both financially and in terms of safety in our waste removal. By seeking ways to reduce waste you will necessarily find ways to improve safety in your workplace, as well as save money not only in removal, but also in countless other ways you may not even realize are opportunities.
Start With a Waste Removal Audit
Whether you’re doing it in-house or working with a company like KenBay to perform a waste removal audit, this is the first step in finding ways to improve safety and reduce waste removal costs. Commit to assessing every part of your processes and operations that produce waste and consider how you might be able to cut back on waste in those circumstances. There are often things that can be recycled that are going into the waste can. Another common oversight is the opportunity to reuse things yourself, or find someone in your community who would consider something that is waste to you a valuable resource for them. Turn to your community to find partnerships like this and you just may save money in buying things you could get at discounted prices, on trade, or completely free
A waste removal audit will also give you an opportunity to take a good hard look at how much waste you are actually producing over all. What does your huge trash bin look like at the end of the week? Is it overflowing, or could it go another week without being picked up. Find solutions either way that will help you reduce waste removal costs. Trash compactors are always a great option, whether you’re on one extreme or the other, allowing you to reduce the size of your waste, and therefore the costs associated with removing it.
The Overflow of Audits
The nice thing about performing a waste removal audit is that you will look at waste collection and removal as a whole system throughout your business. You will start to consider how you can streamline this process that before may not have seemed a significant part of anything at all. When you start to reason about where your waste cans are placed, and whether they are in the most strategic and best places, the safety and cleanliness of your workplace will undoubtedly improve. Trash compactors are a helpful addition, allowing you to ensure that your waste is never unruly and unconfined. Waste cans are overlooked hazards by either being constantly overflowing, or placed too close to vents and heat sources. The safety of your employees will increase while your liability decreases when you start to consider your waste removal.
You will never know if there are improvements that can be made if you don’t take that first step in performing a waste removal audit. Get started and don’t hesitate to call in the KenBay troops for some expert advice and help in approving upon your waste removal practices.
by charlotte | Jun 2, 2016
When it comes to that point in the year when things are dialed in and it’s time to start doing some assessments that you now have time for, waste management is always a good place to start. Great things can come from rethinking your waste management practices including time and money savings. Though you don’t necessarily need to make the investment, a crusher is one of the surest ways you can have the most impact in changing your waste management by reducing its size and therefore the costs you are paying to have it hauled off.
What is a Crusher?
Also known as a trash compactor, a crusher is a mechanical device used across many industries to reduce the size of various types of waste. A crusher is made of material that is molecularly stronger than almost anything it will come in contact with. This means that the two solid surfaces of the crusher, when effected by mechanical force, can break down and reduce in size nearly anything it will compact, with few things able to dent or even scratch it. Crushers are used for everything from cardboard boxes and aluminum cans, to rocks.
Why Use a Crusher?
No matter what industry you’re in there is a crusher that will work perfectly for you without taking up any more space in your facility than a standard sized pallet. For example, the small footprint RotoPac by KenBay only needs a space of 4 by 5 feet to fit comfortably in your workspace. While it takes up very little room, it actually increases your space for waste management as it compacts everything from food waste to general manufacturing waste. When you optimize your waste management with a crusher, you will also significantly reduce your waste removal costs, as your trash is reduced at a ratio of six to one, compacting up to 300 pounds per hour. Not only does a trash compactor reduce the volume of your waste, but it can also significantly increase your workflow efficiency.
A Crusher Can Increase Safety Too
Inefficient waste practices can also result in unsafe work environments cluttered with hazards. Without assessing your waste management practices your facility is prone to waste buildup in places where either a waste can is overflowing, or where there isn’t one at all. When considering making the investment of purchasing a crusher, start by considering the flow of waste management in your workspace. When you do this you will undoubtedly notice that there are many things you can do not only to reduce the amount of waste you’re producing, but also increase productivity by making disposal more convenient for workers, thereby decreasing the number of hazards found throughout the workplace.
Don’t let waste management in your workplace go overlooked just because you aren’t ready to invest in a crusher. There are so many other measures you can take to increase workflows, safety and efficiency when it comes to finding ways to reduce waste. Whether you need to start with a simple waste audit to see where your biggest problems lie, or are ready to bite the bullet and invest in a crusher, there is always something more you can be doing to decrease the amount of waste you are sending to the landfill each year. If you want to talk to some waste management experts, call KenBay to learn more about our extensive line of trash compactors.
by charlotte | May 27, 2016
Trash 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.
by charlotte | May 20, 2016
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.
by charlotte | May 10, 2016
Every year there are 400 million tons of paper and cardboard products created worldwide, and recycling just one ton of that material can save as many as 31 trees from being cut down. About 50% of recycled paper comes from industry and business, making room for a huge market of cardboard recycling services within the waste management field. Through the sorting, compacting, baling, shredding, washing, bleaching, pressing and re-rolling process that takes place when cardboard is recycled, it’s no surprise that recycling centers love to reward businesses with cardboard recycling trash compactors.
10 Ways to Save When You Practice Cardboard Recycling
- Save the Trees!
With dwindling forests around the world, especially in those prized tropical and developing countries like the infamous Borneo, recycling and using recycled products should become a practice we all partake in.
- Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate Social Responsibility is becoming a field all its own as companies realize that part of creating a lifestyle that attracts both talent and investment is the good deeds people are longing to do. A commitment to something like cardboard recycling sets the stage for yet more good works.
- Relieve Overflowing Landfills
Every ton of paper recycled saves about 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space, significantly reducing the amount of waste we send there each year.
- Cardboard is the Biggest
Cardboard recycling is so important because it is the largest form of waste created by business each year, and accounts for about 30 million tons of landfill waste annually.
- Improve Productivity With a Trash Compactor
A stainless steel trash compactor is an easy investment to make if you’re looking to improve your cardboard recycling practices. They will allow your employees to focus more on their tasks at hand than managing waste removal.
- Save on Removal
A trash compactor will decrease the volume of waste you create at a rate of six to one, meaning each load you have hauled away will contain more waste.
- Cut Labor Costs
With a trash compactor, you can eliminate a large portion of someone’s responsibilities, making your workplace more efficient and either cutting down on overtime hours or even trimming down staff as your dial in your workflows.
- Create Income
If you are selling enough cardboard recycling back to the recycling companies, you can not only cover your hauling costs, but you can actually earn money doing it.
- Reduce Hazards
Hazards are dangerous and can end up being costly if the wrong thing happens. Efficient cardboard recycling reduces risk by ensuring that there aren’t constantly big piles of boxes sitting around that could potentially start a fire.
- Improve Your Workplace Environment
Proper waste management practices like cardboard recycling can be central to creating a clean and welcoming work environment that is bound to cut down on your turnover rates. Investing in your space can save you a lot of money on hiring and training in the long run.
When it comes to waste management, a small investment in something like a trash compactor to improve your cardboard recycling can show you big returns, and quickly. Not only are you bound to save face, money, and time, but your employees will be prouder of where they work, and more excited about being there. For more information on improving and upgrading the way you handle waste, call KenBay!
by charlotte | May 6, 2016
With the new year well underway, it’s time to start thinking about those small business investments you’ve been wanting to get to one of these days. With a minimal investment, waste management can be a crucial step in streamlining manufacturing processes as well as reducing costs. A trash compactor is one of the surest ways to get a return on your investment quickly while minimizing your environmental footprint by sending less waste to the landfill. With a little bit of innovation and the right equipment, you can completely makeover your waste strategy for the better of both your business and the world.
Why a Trash Compactor
No matter what industry you’re in there is a trash compactor that will work perfectly for you without taking up any more space in your facility than a standard sized pallet. The small footprint RotoPac by KenBay only needs a space of 4 by 5 feet to fit comfortably in your workspace. While it takes up very little room, it actually increases your space for waste as it compacts everything from food waste to general manufacturing waste. When you optimize your waste management with a trash compactor, you will also significantly reduce your waste removal costs, as your trash is reduced at a ratio of six to one, compacting up to 300 pounds per hour. Not only does a trash compactor reduce the volume of your waste, but it can also significantly increase your workflow efficiency.
Trash Compactor Options
KenBay offers a trash compactor for nearly every industry from the chemical industries to the food and beverage industry. Here are some of our best specs.
- RotoPac
The most versatile trash compactor of the bunch, the RotoPac works in manufacturing and assembly plants, marine environments, food and beverage, distribution centers, aerospace facilities and on ships. It is good to handle all non-metallic solid waste, anti-theft materials, recyclables, hazardous solids and much more. With a trash compactor bag the RotoPac can handle just about any kind of waste you are producing and reduce its size significantly.
- HazPac
Whether you’re disposing of your solid hazardous waste in approved bags or boxes, the HazPac can handle it ensuring that you are disposing of it safely and compactly. All three types of solid hazardous waste are approved for this model.
- BlastPac
This is the explosion proof trash compactor designed to operate safely in environments where there might be flammable gasses or vapors present. There are two classes of BlastPac depending on whether your facility may have flammable gas or dust.
- SacPac
Perfect for any food manufacturing environment, the SacPac is the ideal trash compactor for both food packaging and recyclable materials.
- SeaPac
The marine trash compactor is built to withstand extreme environments like oil rigs in the tropics and meets the worldwide standards for these circumstances.
Will an otherwise easily overlooked thing like waste really inhibit your productivity? Most people don’t even realize it until they start considering new waste management methods to reduce costs, but find that they are also increasing productivity and safety as well. Call KenBay to learn more about the perfect trash compactor for your business.
by charlotte | Apr 27, 2016
The 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.
by charlotte | Apr 20, 2016
What’s the point of having a trash compactor if you can’t count on the bags you’re using in it? Don’t put up with unreliable trash compactor bags because you think you’ll save a little extra money by finding the cheapest deal out there. When you have something in your workspace that is breaking consistently, chances are you get it checked out and probably repaired. Why should trash compactor bags be any different? The benefit is that you don’t have to spend much time or money finding a better solution and more reliable trash compactor bags. Just do some research and talk to your provider about different options.
- Avoid Breaks
When a trash compactor has worked hard to reduce the size of your trash by a ratio from six to one, a broken bag can be a real set back sending all your nicely confined and flattened trash back to where it came from. Don’t put up with this reversal in the proper waste management order. Upgrade your trash compactor bags and keep the flow going for a clean and efficient workspace.
- No Extra Cleanup
Stopping in the middle of work to clean up an avoidable mess is a real pain, and decreases the work efficiency of your employees. There is no reason to waste their time and your money when you can simply invest in durable trash compactor bags.
- Appease Employees
No one likes to clean up garbage, especially when using a trash compactor that is supposed to do that job for you. The slightest annoyance in someone’s work environment can be the cause of much strife and potentially lead to high turnover rates. Don’t let something so small and easy to fix disrupt the peace in your workplace.
- Fit More Trash
The best trash compactor bags are both durable and pliable, able to stretch just the right amount of trash into their midst without busting open at the seams. If you haven’t found these perfect bags yet, keep looking because they’re out there! There’s absolutely no need to keep buying sub-par products when the real deal will make everyone’s life so much easier, and save you the labor costs of continually cleaning up after the mess they make.
- Buy in Bulk
If you are able to buy in larger quantities than just one box at a time, you will undoubtedly save money. Most providers, like KenBay, are willing to sling a great deal for people who want to purchase large quantities, saving you actual money as well as labor expenses when you’re dealing with cheap products. KenBay sells a wide array of high-quality trash compactor bags at reasonable prices and are always willing to work out a great deal for customers. Whether you’re looking for reprocessed polyethylene or 100% biodegradable bags, you can get them at KenBay.
No longer put up with the unnecessary challenges that come with subpar trash compactor bags. Make the small investment of time and money to ensure that switching out your trash compactor bags is an easy and painless experience every time.
by charlotte | Apr 13, 2016
The hazardous waste disposal industry ships in excess of 3 billion tons of regulated materials throughout the United States each year. Hazardous waste disposal can seem a looming task in your operations, but with the right information and resources, it can be an easy, safe and worry-free process. There is no reason to be overwhelmed at the rules and regulations around hazardous waste disposal, or to put yourself and your employees in unsafe situations by neglecting to handle it with care. If you’re looking for new and better ways to take care of your hazardous waste disposal you’ve come to the right place as we are waste management experts and have all the information you need to make your workplace as safe and clean as possible.
Hazardous Waste Disposal Packing Categories
The first thing you need to figure out is what packing categories your hazardous waste falls into. There are nine different classes that indicate the degree of danger of your hazardous waste. Because your hazardous waste will need to be removed from you worksite, the Department of Transportation has established guidelines for how your hazardous waste must be packaged for the safest transportation possible.
- Class 1 Explosives and pyrotechnics
- Class 2 Compressed, flammable, nonflammable, and poison gases
- Class 3 Flammable liquids
- Class 4 Flammable solids
- Class 5 Oxidizers and organic peroxides
- Class 6 Toxic and infectious materials
- Class 7 Radioactive materials
- Class 8 Corrosive materials
- Class 9 Miscellaneous dangerous substances and articles
The manner in which you store and package your hazardous waste is extremely important in order to be properly insured and as safe as possible. Find out which classes apply to your hazardous waste disposal and how you need to package all of the waste materials you are creating.
Hazardous Waste Compactors
If your hazardous waste falls into any of the solid waste classes, then a hazardous waste compactor could improve both your workflow and safety in your workplace. The HazPac for Hazardous Waste from KenBay is an excellent product capable of reducing the size of your hazardous waste while keeping it confined. Depending on the packing class of your waste, the HazPac can be customized to either package it into plastic bags or tri-wall waste boxes.
The Benefits of the HazPac
The Hazpac not only keeps your waste confined to a specific area, it also has an incredibly small footprint. This means that you can place it right at the site where your hazardous waste is created, cutting down not only on the time hazardous waste disposal takes, but also the distance it has to travel. The risks of contamination will decrease significantly. The HazPac can also contain six times as much hazardous waste as a conventional waste can, which will greatly decrease the packaging and removal costs.
Don’t take hazardous waste disposal lightly. It is a serious matter that requires a legal and thoughtful plan. There are many resources to help you make sure your hazardous waste disposal is as efficient and safe as possible, including waste management experts like KenBay. Give us a call to see how we can help you with your hazardous waste disposal plan.
