Everything you need to know about a waste management system: waste management introduction, waste disposal methods, tools you can use to reduce waste, how to conduct effective waste audits, and additional tools to help your business comply with environmental law
A waste management system is the strategy an organization uses to dispose, reduce, reuse, and prevent waste. Possible waste disposal methods are recycling, composting, incineration, landfills, bioremediation, waste to energy, and waste minimization.
There are multiple waste management strategies and methods available. These strategies can be combined or rearranged to form a waste management system that fits an organization. Modern waste management strategies are geared towards sustainability. Other alternatives for waste management is to reduce, reuse and recycle waste.
Also known as physical reprocessing, recycling is ideal for the disposal of inorganic waste such as plastic, glass, and metals. Though organic waste such as paper and food can also be recycled, composting would be a better waste disposal method as it converts organic waste into nutrient-rich fertilizer.
Waste to energy on the other hand, is the conversion of non-recyclable waste into heat, electricity, or fuel using renewable energy sources such as anaerobic digestion and plasma gasification.
Anaerobic digestion is the biological reprocessing of animal manure and human excreta into methane-rich biogas. Plasma gasification uses a plasma-filled vessel operating at high temperatures and low levels of oxygen to transform hazardous waste into syngas. Another option for disposing of hazardous waste is bioremediation, the treatment of contaminants, toxins, and pollutants through micro-organisms.
A waste audit is an assessment of an organization’s waste management system. It analyzes the movement of waste from generation to disposal. Common approaches for conducting waste audits are records examination, facility walk-throughs, and waste sorting.
First approach – involves looking at waste hauling and disposal records as well as contracts with recycling facilities.
Second approach – requires a team of internal auditors to identify waste-generating activities through observation and interviews with employees.
Third approach – is the physical collection, sorting, and weighing of a sample of the organization’s waste. This sample can be a day’s worth of waste or a collection of waste from each department.
Best practices for conducting a waste audit are to refrain from releasing the audit date to the entire organization, prepare personal protective equipment and a venue for sorting beforehand, and commit to acting on the waste audit result. This can be achieved by creating corrective action plans for each possible result.
For example, if the organization scored low on a certain area, then the following steps should be done. For this to work, it is essential for the organization to set the criteria before conducting the waste audit. Another tip is to use digital waste audit checklists for easy documentation and a more comprehensive data analysis.
A digital waste audit checklist is used before, during, and after a waste audit. It typically contains planning, waste sorting, and next steps, though it may also include descriptions of the organization’s waste stream. Aside from being more convenient, digital waste audit checklists are also better for the environment than paper checklists.
Ensure that your organization has implemented an effective waste audit process. Determine the readiness of the waste audit team, inspect sorting equipment, and come up with corrective action plans. Confirm that goals and predictions have been enumerated. Verify that puncture-resistant nitrile gloves, full Tyvek coveralls, and tables with plastic covers are available.