Most of us are familiar with ways to reduce waste in our households and some of these methods can be useful for businesses too. Here are some ways that businesses reduce waste.
Waste is a big issue for businesses in the UK. 40.4 million tonnes of commercial and industrial waste was generated in 2020. This is around 19% of total waste. This also excludes construction, demolition and excavation which was a whopping 62% of waste (UK Government).
Ways that businesses can reduce waste
Do a waste audit. Look at the materials that the business buys in and how much is used vs how much is wasted. Look at the levels of waste that the business currently generates. Make a record of this, so that you can report on it and measure any future improvements and reductions.
Buy less in the first place. This sounds obvious but it can be difficult to action. Most materials are cheaper at larger quantities because of economy of scale.
A business might buy in excess and store materials because they think they will use it over time. But the reality may be that the extra materials gather dust in a warehouse and are eventually written off as waste. The waste audit will inform the business if this has been a false economy.
Conversely, buying in bulk might prevent waste by reducing the amount of packaging required and the transportation costs. Larger containers use less plastic and metal than high quantities of small containers. They are also likely to require less packaging and shrink wrapping.
Reduce, reuse, and recycle
Reuse as much as possible. Examples of this is buying ceramic or metal serving ware so that they can be reused, rather than disposable plates and cutlery. And refillable water bottles and cups instead of single use plastics. Repurpose items whenever possible by upcycling them or changing their use, for example reusing a desk in another office or as a warehouse booking station.
Blue Patch community members Cast Furniture offer a service where they will take back furniture items after a rental or commercial use. They work with partners to upcycle these items into ‘good as new’ products.
Donate what cannot be reused. There are always smaller and less affluent businesses, and even employees who work from home, who are on the lookout for usable office furniture and office supplies. Donating works for all materials. Donate excess waste materials to another organisation, for example a local community centre, that can use them.
Reduce paper waste whenever possible. Documents can be delivered and signed electronically. Share documents on cloud-based applications so that they don’t need to be printed or posted. Printing on both sides of the paper can halve the paper use!
Sustainable businesses reduce waste
Sustainable businesses reduce waste by measuring waste and making changes. By running an audit on waste, a business is well placed to see where the most waste is generated and make plans to reduce it. The audit also forms the baseline from which the company can measure improvement.
These improvements can go into Environmental, Social and Governance reports or Impact reports. Share them with stakeholders, potential customers and the general public.
Every business can make changes to reduce waste. It is one element of net zero planning for a business. We provide free net zero training for our community members. If you would like to join us, apply today.
