Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Creative Ways Manufacturers Can Decrease Waste

factory by a river

In the dynamic landscape of modern manufacturing, the mantra of “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” is more than just a catchphrase – it’s a strategic approach that can revolutionize industrial processes. By incorporating these principles, manufacturers not only contribute to environmental sustainability but also stand to significantly reduce costs associated with industrial waste. In this article, we will explore creative ways manufacturers can implement the 3R’s to enhance their practices and make a positive impact on both their bottom line and the planet.

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How to Make Your 2017 Mantra: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

reduce, reuse, recycleWe are almost two months into 2017, and many people have given up on their New Year’s resolutions. Maybe you wanted to be more environmentally minded this year, but that mindset fell by the wayside in favor of other obligations. Is it too late for you to make the changes you wanted so badly last December? Not at all! We here at KenBay believe that the second best time to change your habits is today (the best time was yesterday). If you want to make 2017 your year of change, here’s a great mantra to live by: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

Reduce

If you want to make an environmental difference at your plant, reducing waste should be one of your first priorities. How do you know the amount of waste you’re generating? A great first step is to examine your material flow. Look at what’s coming into your plant, how it is used, and how it leaves. Once you’ve identified the source of your waste, then you can take steps to reduce it!

Reuse

One great way to help reduce your waste is to reuse it! This can look like a lot of different things. Perhaps you can find alternative uses for the giant plastic bags your products come in. Or perhaps you can repurpose scrap metal instead of leaving it around (which, by the way, is a big safety hazard!) And remember, reusing materials doesn’t have to mean physical materials like plastic and metal. Resources like water and energy can also be reused. You can conserve on multiple levels!

Recycle

The last step in our Reduce, Reuse, Recycle mantra is recycling. Interestingly, this is probably the first thing you thought of. And why not? Everyone knows about recycling. Improved environmental education has taught our children the benefits of recycling from a young age. But what is important to keep in mind is that before we can recycle, we must first reduce our waste and reuse what we can. How can we recycle? It’s actually easy — stop sending your waste into landfills! Landfills generate greenhouse gasses and can secrete chemicals into the earth.

Instead, send the waste you can’t reuse to a proper recycling facility. Additionally, look into whether waste-to-energy is a viable option. Waste-to-energy is an excellent alternative to traditional fossil fuels. You’ll reduce your waste and help our energy problem at the same time. It’s like an environmental double whammy!

Remember the mantra: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. It’s not to late to make these changes for 2017. One thing that can help you reduce waste more effectively? Utilizing the right kind of compactor. A KenBay RotoPac is portable, which means it can be stored at the source of the waste. Say goodbye to enormous compactors that take up half the room! Because our RotoPacs have a constantly rotating arm, your waste is continually pressed and tightened into a convenient cube shape. Cubes are great for stacking and hauling over to the recycling facility! If you are interested in purchasing a KenBay RotoPac for yourself, you can try it before you buy it. If you enjoy the RotoPac, you can even pay to keep the one we send you. Change is possible this year, and KenBay can help.

4 Reasons to Make Reuse a Priority in Your Waste Management

ReuseIf you are trying to reduce your waste, one of the easiest things you can do is find things that are easy to reuse. With a little bit of effort, you can significantly reduce many of your waste streams with simple reuse protocols based around sorting, cleaning and storing. There are many things, like manila envelopes and plastic containers, that are determined waste that can be useful instead of thrown out. By taking the effort to save and reuse whatever you can, you will save the company from having to purchase as many as it would otherwise. There are also many opportunities to sell used goods to other companies who can use or recycle them, creating a passive income for your company.  

4 Benefits of a Habit of Reuse

  1. Save Money
    When you reuse things throughout your business operations you will undoubtedly save money in many ways. Not only will you spend less on purchasing what you have decided to reuse, but you will also save money on waste removal as you significantly diminish a waste stream. When you open your mind to the idea of reusing things you will undoubtedly begin to think more creatively about the waste you’re creating. If you want to further reduce your waste removal costs, consider purchasing a commercial trash compactor.
  2. Build Partnerships
    Another common oversight is the opportunity to find a partner in your community who would consider something that is your waste to be 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. Not only will the habit of reuse challenge you to think more creatively about your own waste, but also about that of your partners throughout the community.
  3. Zero Landfill Initiative
    The zero landfill initiative is an ideal that many organizations and governments strive for, and the practice of reuse is central to achieving it. If you haven’t yet considered how you can contribute to this admirable common goal, a waste audit and habit of reuse are great places to start.
  4. Encourage a Charitable Community
    Many things go in the trash that could be incredibly useful to other organizations in your community. Teachers, for instance, are constantly short on supplies they need for the classroom, and some of your garbage could serve as great craft supplies or even paper products they might need for schoolwork. Don’t give in and let things get dumped at the landfill when you could be directly helping your community with what you might now be deeming trash. If you can’t reuse it yourself, chances are someone else can. Furthermore, this kind of outward-facing thoughtfulness is a great way to get your employees more engaged in their work as they aim to make it part of something bigger than themselves or even the organization, but about being a service provided to their local community.

If you haven’t yet made the habit of reuse a norm in your organization, it’s time to start working towards this goal. Begin by educating your employees on some simple changes they can make, then give them the freedom to find their own solutions to reuse in order to reduce waste streams. If you are looking for further waste management help, give KenBay a call to see how we can help you.

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.