Waste management is the process of handling, transporting, and disposing of waste materials. It includes everything from collecting and sorting rubbish to recycling and processing hazardous waste. Waste management is a critical function for businesses. Proper waste management helps to protect the environment, reduce pollution, and prevent public health hazards.

In this article, we’ll be exploring the benefits of professional waste management, various waste disposal methods, and how we at the Waste Brokerage Company can aid in your commercial waste management. Read on to find out more.

How Professional Waste Management is Beneficial

There are many benefits to using professional waste management services for businesses. Some of the key benefits include:

Reducing Environmental Pollution

One of the most significant advantages of professional waste management is that it helps to reduce environmental pollution. This is achieved by preventing harmful materials from being released into the environment, such as toxic chemicals, pesticides, and other hazardous substances. These materials are released into the environment if they’re left in landfill – of which we have over 500 landfill sites in the UK alone. In addition, proper waste management also reduces the amount of methane gas that is produced from decomposing rubbish in landfills. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that contributes significantly to climate change.

Conserving energy and resources

Another benefit of using professional waste management services is that it helps to conserve energy and resources. This is because recycling and waste reduction programs help to reduce the amount of raw materials that need to be extracted from the earth in the production of new goods and products – recycling conserves energy as it takes less energy to recycle materials than it does to create new products from scratch.

Creating Jobs

Professional waste management creates jobs. In the UK alone, there are over 70,000 people employed in the waste and recycling industry. This helps to boost the economy and provides employment opportunities in a time when they’re greatly needed.

Waste Disposal Methods

There are many ways to manage waste, and these methods can be customised to fit the needs of any organisation. The most modern waste management strategies emphasise sustainability. However, there are also other options for managing waste, such as reducing, reusing or recycling it.

Recycling is the process of converting waste material into new, usable products. Physical reprocessing, or recycling, is best for inorganic materials such as plastic and glass. However, organic items like paper and food can also be recycled. Composting may be a better method of disposing of organic waste because it transforms the waste into fertiliser rich in nutrients.

On the other hand, waste to energy (WtE) is defined as the conversion of non-recyclable waste into heat, electricity, or fuel using renewable energy sources. Methods used to achieve this include anaerobic digestion and plasma gasification.

Anaerobic digestion is the term for when animal manure and human excreta are turned into methane-rich biogas. Plasma gasification uses a vessel that has plasma and high temperatures, but low levels of oxygen to transform hazardous waste into syngas. Bioremediation is another method of disposing of hazardous waste in which toxins, contaminants, and pollutants are treated with microorganisms.

Best Practices

A waste audit is an examination of how much waste an organisation produces, and how that waste is managed. Commonly used methodologies for conducting a waste audit include a records review, in-person facility inspections, and sorting through refuse.

Best practices for conducting a waste audit:

• Do not share the date of the audit with everyone in the organisation
• Have PPE and sorting space prepared before beginning
• Be ready to take action based on what the waste audit uncovers

You can achieve this goal by having corrective plans in place for each possible outcome.

If, for example, the organisation scored low on a certain area, then they should take the following steps to rectify it. However, before conducting the waste audit, it is essential for the organisation to set criteria. Additionally, an easy way to document and have more comprehensive data analysis would be to use digital waste audit checklists.

How We Can Help

Now that you understand the positives of professional waste disposal, and various disposal methods – it’s time to take action. The Waste Brokerage Company is waiting to help you get rid of all your unwanted waste. We can provide skips, vans and staff who will happily assist you in getting rid of all your waste, so that you can focus your time elsewhere within your business. Simply, get in touch with a member of our team today to find out how we can help.