EPA’s Small Business Guide To Reducing Waste

While most success stories of waste reduction and recycling focus on large businesses, small businesses can also attain significant cost savings while impacting their local environment. Whether your small business generates paper, food, metal, plastics, or wood waste when you aren’t recycling you’re wasting money by having to dispose of items that you aren’t using.

In a small business, preventing waste can happen in many ways. Here are a few suggestions that the United States Environmental Protection Agency recommends:

  • Purchase long-lasting goods and materials
  • Use clearning and packaging products that are not toxic
  • Cut back on over-packaging materials or purchasing materials with excess packaging
  • Conserve water and energy usage in the workplace
  • Green your office by requiring double sided printing, using email or computer based storage for documents, and recycling scrap paper.

In addition to generating savings, recycling equipment, tools, and other items by donating to local charities can gain your business publicity and enhance your standing in your local community. If you’re a small business owner looking to bring waste reduction, recycling and materials reuse to your business, the key thing to remember is to start on small. Pick one or two areas that you can easily implement and track the levels of savings and success with. Once you and your employees feel comfortable with the changes, additional measures and goals can be added in.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember:  Reducing waste and recycling is very similar to ensuring worker safety and customer satisfaction. When you invest a little effort and time to doing the job right, the payoff you experience on the other side is well worth the initial work!