Waste management is a significant cost for any business. CSR reporting is becoming more and more indispensable. We help you define relevant indicators to improve your waste management.
Many new obligations
Since 2016, regulations in the waste industry have been constantly evolving, the threshold for selective collection of bio-waste has been lowered to 10 tons per year and companies are required to sort the five waste streams: paper/cardboard, plastic, metal, glass and wood. In 2019, the General Tax for Polluting Activities, provided for in the French Finance Act, was gradually increased and the thresholds for sorting office paper at source were lowered to 20 employees.
Commitment to a corporate waste management approach reduces the impact on the environment and generates savings while returning a positive image to partners and customers. Indeed, beyond regulatory, environmental and health constraints, waste also has an impact on the company’s economic performance. While companies generally know the cost of the waste bill, they very rarely calculate the full cost of their waste management.
Define waste management KPIs
Indicators are essential tools for implementing a CSR policy on waste management. In particular, they make it easier to regularly monitor waste and evaluate the strategy implemented for waste. Ensuring good waste management means setting precise objectives in terms of production (with the possibility of adjustment), knowing how to target points of attention (e.g. paper consumption by the printer), monitoring the behavior of the waste garbage cans, communicating concrete results of the company’s commitments.
Before defining these indicators, it is necessary to take stock of the waste situation: What types of waste does the company produce? What are the main sources of this waste? What is the share of recycled and non-recycled products? What is the current cost of waste management for the company? Is the approach environmental or financial, or both? To what extent does it fit into the company’s overall strategy?
In a second step, you will be able to define the relevant indicators for monitoring the management of your waste. Here is an example of the data that may be appropriate :
- the annual or monthly production of waste (in kg or liter)
- annual or monthly production of recycled products
- annual or monthly costs for waste management (the more waste is sorted, the lower the costs)
- the number of collections detected (if the collections are less important it means that the production of waste has decreased)
- it can also be interesting to refer to the nature of the waste (paper, food, cardboard…) example: the teams consume a lot of paper.
5 tips for organizing waste management in your company
- To be informed on the subject in order to be up to date on regulatory constraints, disposal techniques (storage, collection, recovery, etc.) adapted to each waste stream, and waste management services.
- Adopt a waste management policy by drawing up an internal waste treatment and disposal plan, mapping the company’s waste, and then determine the good practices to be applied in the company and the waste reduction objectives targeted. For a better fluidity of the project, define a person in charge of the implementation, follow-up and regular communication on the development of this policy and its effects.
- Reduce the production of your waste at the source. The storage, collection and recovery of waste represent a real burden for the company. By reducing the quantity at source, you will reduce your costs. To do this, it is necessary to implement good practices in order to limit the consumption of waste-generating products.
- Optimize your collection cycle by controlling volumes, direct and indirect costs, the quality of sorting, by using containers of the right size, by organizing your flows with an optimized tour. It may happen that some waste, produced in too small a quantity by the company, is not collected. It may therefore be interesting to organize a collective collection with the companies present in your geographical area.
- Raise staff awareness about waste management. With everyone’s commitment, the company can reduce and better manage its waste. Employees are ready to get involved if they understand the importance of their actions and feel valued.
