Business owners are incredible people. They eat, sleep, and breathe their work, and all for the benefit of others. Everything you use – from your food to your clothing – is the result of a hardworking entrepreneur who put everything into an idea that started the businesses you depend on. Though these ideas are diverse, there is one thing that brings them all together.
Trash.
Trash like food scraps, paper waste, tissues, etc. is easily removed by your municipal waste facilities. However, it isn’t the only waste that businesses create. Offices also create trash from renovation projects, remodeling jobs, or office updates. You can’t put things like old computers, hundreds of desks, and tons of paint cans in a municipal waste disposal. So, what does your business do when it comes time to update the office and you’re left with a bunch of large garbage items you don’t know what to do with?
You might be wondering whether commercial dumpster rental is the best option for you and if it is, then what type of dumpster you might need?
The following considerations are designed to help our customers make an informed decision.
How Much Waste Does Your Business Create?
Before getting started with a trash company, you will likely need to audit your trash usage. What is the most significant source of waste generated at your company? About how many pounds of trash, on average, does your business throw out each day? Is your trash easily compacted, or is it generally very bulky? These questions will help you determine what type of waste services your company needs, as well as how big your waste receptacles need to be.
What Type of Waste Does Your Company Create?
Not every business creates the same type of waste. Office-dependent businesses generate paper, plastic, and sometimes even electronic waste. Businesses like restaurants create quite a bit of food waste but also waste made by packaging that food. The end of life options for waste are vast – composting, reuse, donation, recycling, and trash options are all used by businesses around the country. Separating types of garbage, like having bins for paper, plastic, food waste, tin, etc. can ease the determination of what kind of services your company needs.
Additionally, not all businesses create the same kind of waste all the time. Occasionally, a business will need to upgrade. Paints, obsolete machinery, old office supplies and furniture, and more don’t belong in your regular dumpster, and might in fact be removed by a municipal waste removal company. That’s when it’s best to work with a company like Small Haul Containers.
What Kind of Facility or Environmental Constraints Does Your Company Have?
Your area might also have great trash or recycling services, but the location of your business might not be able to meet those constraints. Examine different aspects of your business, including its situation in the city, customer demographics and needs, as well as corporate needs before deciding what to do with your trash.
For instance, if you operate a cafe on a quaint street in the center of town, you might not be able to utilize a large dumpster for the trash your cafe creates. In terms of recycling, not all areas of the country offer recycling programs or have certain recycling facilities nearby. This means that items that might be recycled in other parts of the country, such as glass or specific numbers of plastics, will have to be placed within a waste receptacle rather than a recycling receptacle.
Ways to Reduce Your Waste
You might think that we in the garbage industry would be invested in all the stuff you throw out. But we know that part of responsible waste collection is thinking ahead, as spotlighted by our planning questions.
Thinking ahead includes finding ways to reduce the impact your business has on global waste. There are plenty of resources available that provide ideas for individuals to reduce their waste consumption. Many of these can be applied to businesses, but there are also other things you can do as a company can do to reduce your waste and better plan for the right size commercial dumpster.
- Offer a composting program at your business. There are even composting programs that turn your compost waste into energy that can be returned to your place of business, saving you money in the long run.
- Install filtered water bottle filling receptacle and do away with bottled water dispensers. Save the expense associated with liquid vendors and extra waste. If you have a business cafe, also consider making the switch to fountain liquids over canned and bottled liquids.
- Go paperless and offer customer incentives for paperless options. Paper takes up 28% of landfills in the United States, and many paper products cannot be recycled despite our best efforts. Save up to 28% of the space in your commercial dumpster by dumping the need for paper.
- Evaluate the packaging used at your company. Are there ways you can switch to reduced packaging or package free? A simple switch can save you money when it comes to waste disposal and can make a big difference when it comes to placing items in a waste receptacle.
- Speak with your business partners and vendors you work with about their “freebies.” Many vendors give freebies or promotional products to their customers, and those almost always end up in the bin (stress balls, pens, koozies, etc.). Rather than paying for them to get thrown out, encourage your vendors to stop making them by refusing wasteful freebie items.
- Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Businesses are at the forefront of supporting the effort to reduce their waste. After they’ve audited their waste and figured out how they can reduce it, recycling and reusing items will further make an impact on how much waste the company produces.
- If any of your old office material is still usable – for instance, chairs and desks in good condition — consider donating it to local schools or charity organizations.
We hope that with this information you will be better able to make the right choice about waste management practices at your business.
Being a business owner isn’t always easy, but services like Small Haul Containers makes taking care of the more tedious aspects of your business – like taking out the trash from a big remodel – a breeze. We’re committed to helping residents in Stilwell, Belton, Grandview, Leawood, Lenexa, Shawnee, Prairie Village, Spring Hill, Grandview, Louisburg, and South Kansas City take care of their business-related waste. For personalized options for your business, visit our website. Or, contact us at (913) 991-1595 or [email protected].
