Document 6505469

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CONDUCTING A
.WASTE ASSESSMENT
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STARTING A
RECYCLING
PROGRAM
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D O N A T I N G U S E D 1TE.MS
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dil Waste Management
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Today, waste disposalis Just one of the many costs Df
doing buslness. Companies have seen a dramatlc
Increase In the complexities and costs of waste
dlsposal. As a result, many businesses find a waste
reduction program helps them manage their waste
and save money. A waste reduction program that
Includes both source reduction and recycling allows
employees to make an environmental contributlon
and 'it reduces disposal costs.
This kit will help your company, church or business
determine what's in their waste stream, how much
waste they generate and how to reduce thelr waste
The steps for conducting a waste assessment areas
follows:
Step 1 : Obtain management support and
commltment
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Step 2: Assign a person or team to be In charge
of the program
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SUPPCRT
A waste reduction program's success often depends
on management approval, especmlly if it alters
existing policies and contracts. Once your program
IS established, keep management informed of its
progress, and utllize them for communicating
successes to employees.
Waste reduction programs are most successful when
an enthusiastic individual or team leads the program.
Depending upon the sue of your company, the,team
approach may be the most successful, but either
form of leadership is o.kay -just put sorneone.in
charg& The program leader or the leadership team
manages the program and acts as liaison wlth
management, employees, the maintenance'staffand
recycling vendors representatives.
Step 3: Conduct a waste assessment
Step 4: Develop a waste reduction plan
Step 5: Implement the waste reduction plan
Step 6: Monitor and evaluate the plan
Follow these six steps to start reducing your
company's waste. Mecklenburg County also
provides forms for conducting a waste assessment as
well as a current list of recycling vendorsthat may
assist you withpick up and education.
Step 3
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CONOUCT A WASTE
ASSESSMENT
The waste assessment establishesa baseline of data
and gives you the background information needed
to plan a waste reduction program for your
company. There are three parts to a full waste
assessment:
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Observing departmental procedures [building
walk-through)
= Reviewing company records [records examination)
Sorting through company garbage (waste sort)
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You may choose to do one or more components of
the waste assessment depending on your needs.
The building walk-throughlets you observe and
talk to employees about waste producing activities.
Be certain to include all departments and all shifts.
You or your team should watch for: types and
amounts of waste produced; waste producing
activities and equipment; inefficiencies in operation
or in the way waste moves through the company;
.potential space for storlng recyclable material;and
current waste reductlon efforts. You will also need to
interview employees for their Ideas on waste
reducing activities.
A records examination helps you identlfy those
things coming into your company that may later
AMERICAN
leave as trash due to over supply, expiration, or poor
quality material or equipment. Reviewing records
will also determine if your company is purchasing
items made from recycled materials.
BUSINESSES THROW AWAY. ENOUGH OFFICE
AND WRITING PAPER
TO B U I L D A 1 2 - F O O T - H I G H W A L L
FROM LOS A N G E L E S TO N E W YORK C I T Y
EVERY YEAR.
Records will also identify waste removal costs. (Turn
to theback of this guide to calculate potential waste
savings.) 'The types of.records you mightfind useful
include: purchasing, inventory, maintendnce, and
operating logs; supply, equipment, and raw material
invoices; equipment seivice contracts; repair invoices;
waste hauling and disposal recordsand contracts;
contracts with recycling facilitiesand records of
revenue earned from recycling.
The waste sort involves the collecting, sorting and
weighing a representative sampleof your company's
waste. The goal of the waste sort is to identify '
different types (for example:paper,plastic,
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aluminum) an& amounts of garbage generated.
You can then calculate as precisely as possible the
percentage of different types of waste your company
.is currently producing.
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Eliminate items that contribute little or nothing to
your product or service.
Document all the information gained through your
waste assessment. Once the waste reduction
program is under way, this data will allow you to
evaluate the impact of the program..
Recycling is reusing waste after it's generated:
-Start an office paper, cardboard or aluminum can
recycling program. Use the Recycling Vendor List
to get yourstarted or call 336-6087 if you need
more information.
Now that you've assessed your wasre, you and your
team need to decide which waste reduction options
your company can implement. Waste reduction
options include: Source Reduction, Recycling,
Changes in Purchasing Practices, and Composting.
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Source Reduction is preventing waste before it's
generated:
.- Establish a company-wide double sided copying'
policy to reduce the amount of paper generated..
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Eliminate bcover sheet when sending faxes.
Provide'reusable mugsand spoons by the ofice
coffee makerand use cloth towels and napkins
instead of disposble paper ones.
Buy reusable plastic pallets.
Use solar-powered calculators; replace single-use
batteries with rechargeable ones;
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Reuse packing materials from incoming packages
for outgoing packages.
Send toner cartridges to a manufacturer to be
refilled.
Donate reusable materialsthat you no longer
need, such as brniture, clothing and office
machines.
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Listed below are just a few of the agencies in
Mecklenburg County that accept donated items:
AMVET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
,393-2359
Crisis Assistance Ministry . . . . . . . ._.:,. . . . .'37 1 -!OOO
Goodwill Industries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .372-3434
Rebound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334-4635
Salvation Army . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .332- I 1 7 1
Uptown Shelter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .334-3 187
Gift-In-Kind Clearing House . . . . . . . . . . . ,347-3477
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Substitute less toxic products for inks, paints, and.
cleaning solvenk.
Save documents on hard drives or floppy disks
instead of making paper copies and use central
files to reduce the number of hard copies your
company retains.
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Purchasing
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Waste reduction saves your.company money now by
reducing disposal
costs.
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Buy products with recycled content. Thlscreates a
demand for your recylables.
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= Purchase high qualtty long lasting supphes and
equipment that can be easily repaired.
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Research-whatyour company pays for waste disposal
each year:
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Ask vendorfto eliminate excess packagmg from
incoming deliveries.
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Cornposting
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LWPLEMENT
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Pick up charges
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fees
Disposal
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Total wastg
handing
costs .
before reduction6 recycling
Now total the waste handling costs you avoid when
you produce less-waste-byrecycling or instituting
other waste reduction measures.
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Use a worm bin to convert food wastes into
potting soil or compost. Call 3'36.6087 if you need
more information about composting with worms.
hit!
Container rental charges
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Compost yard trlmmlngs and leavegrass clipplngs
on the lawn. Better yet, choose a landscape
design that needs low maintenance.
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THE PLAN
Container rental charges
avoided by reducing needed
containers
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Once you decide on which waste reduction options
to adopt, you-are ready to implement a program. If
your waste reduction program is complex, build yo,ur
program slowly so employees are not overwhelmed
by changes in procedure. A pilot program may
identify any operational problems In the early stages.
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Pick up charges avoided
by requiring fewer pick
UPS
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All employees must be informed about the program
and how important their cooperation and involvement is to its success. Make use of the employee
newsletter, electronic mait, ti-aining sessions, posters,
contests, and employee orientation programs.
Consider including waste reduction program
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participation in your company'sjob performance
standards.
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Disposal
fees
avoided by
disposing of less.waste
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T O ~savings
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N o w subtract the totai savings from the total waste
handing costs before reduction & recycling to see
how muchwaste reduction reduces the cost of waste
hauling eachyear! .
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waste
handling
Total
reduction
after
costs
& recycling
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'EVALUATE
THE P L A N
Once the program is under way, the team should
evaiuate its effectivenessto determine if original goals
are being met. Perform the first evaluation after the
program is firmly established. Some organizations
may decide to evaluate the program after 30 days
whlle others wait for six or eight months when they
have more'data to assess. It's important to keep
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accurate.records. Documentation provides the team
with vital information to evaluate the effect of new
products, different vendors, or new systems. It may
be worthwhile to conduct more in depth waste
assessments to determine further.thanges In your
company's waste. Remember to inform employees
about any changes that have occurred since the
kickoff. Publlsh a monthly or annual report on the
waste reduction program's success.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL: (704) 336-6087
Solid Waste Management
Upon request, thls tnformatlon wlll be provided in an alternatlve format for persons with disablllttes.
@ Thls informatton IS prtnted on recycled paper with soy-based Inks.