Measuring Your Waste: A Key Component
to any Waste Reduction Program
Measuring is critical to every component of a waste reduction
program– including source reduction (preventing waste before it is generated),
recycling collection, and buying products made with recycled material.
Reasons why you should measure your company’s waste reduction
program:
·
justifies waste
reduction programs to management- by measuring your baseline (the conditions from
which you start) and then your results (after the program has been initiated for some
time), you can justify the benefit of the
program to upper management
·
provides publicity
opportunities- obtain solid numbers to publicize your company’s environmental
stewardship
· reveals
the economic value of waste reduction- measuring reveals which waste reduction
activities are the most efficient and which save the most money.
· motivates
employees- posting monthly measurement results can help motivate employees to increase
participation.
There are various ways to collect your data. You could review hauler records; take employee surveys;
conduct facility walk-throughs, or physically sort and weigh your waste. The most effective measurement systems often are
simple and user-friendly.
To learn about the importance of measuring and the various ways you
can collect the data, visit the Environmental Protection Agency’s WasteWise
publications web page at www.epa.gov/wastewise/pub_c.htm.
Download the document titled “The Measure of Success-Calculating Waste Reduction”.
________________________
Source: “The Measure of Success-Calculating Waste Reduction” by the EPA,
document # EPA530-N-99-003
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