What is the Process of Minimizing Waste?
Every year, millions of tons of waste is generated from both households and building construction, most of which ends up in landfills with a small percentage being recycled. Thus, there is a great need for waste minimization as this will not only have a huge environmental impact but also present substantial economic and social benefits.
Waste minimization entails limiting the amount of waste that is generated thereby helping to eliminate the production of persistent and harmful wastes effectively supporting efforts that promote a society that is sustainable. Thus, waste minimization involves a change of societal patterns that relate to production and consumption as well as redesigning products to eliminate the generation of waste.
Benefits of Waste Minimization
While it is obvious that waste minimization supports sound business and economic practices in addition to protecting the environment, other benefits include the following:
- Improved product quality – New technological practices and innovation will not only reduce generation of waste but also contribute to improved input quality that translates to improved products.
- Economic benefits – Efficiency in product use translates to reduced costs when purchasing materials thus significantly affecting financial performance.
- Efficiency of production practices – Waste minimization will attain more output of the product for every part of raw material.
- Environmental responsibility – eliminating or minimizing generation of waste will make it easy for you to achieve environmental policies, standards and regulations.
- Public image – Embracing waste minimization will boost the reputation of your company, as it is a reflection of proactive movement in the quest to protect the environment.
3 R’s of Waste Minimization
Waste minimization revolves around three R’s as follows:
Reduce: This calls for using resources that are just enough to cater to your needs for instance building a smaller house. This is an effective way of conserving resources as it also lowers the costs. This can be achieved through attaining accuracy when ordering to ensure that there is no waste or no material is sitting on the site for long periods that it is damaged.
Reuse: Here, you will do well to reuse existing materials and buildings effectively reducing the need for resources while lowering waste volumes and saving money. A huge percentage of resources are incorporated in the construction of homes owing to the mixed materials that are used yet the end destination for most of them are landfills. Thus, renovating a house is a much better option than bringing it down to put up another one because a negligible fraction of the old house may be reused/recycled.
Recycle: Using left over resources or those resources that have reached the end of their life minimizes the need for new materials as well as lowers the volume that ends up in landfills. Thus, it is advisable to use materials that are recyclable as this creates a market for the resources that are recycled while also raising the price that recyclers pay for resources that are recovered even as the recycling viability increases.
Waste Minimization Processes
Optimization of resources
In order to reduce the quantity of waste that is produced by individuals or organizations calls for the optimization of raw materials used in production. For instance, a dressmaker will do well to arrange the pieces of pattern in a certain way along the length of the fabric to use a small portion of the fabric.
Scrap metal reuse
Incorporating scraps into the initial stages of manufacturing is a surefire way of ensuring that they do not end up in landfills as waste products. A majority of industries embrace this process effectively returning rolls that are damaged to the initial production line and in the manufacturing of off cuts, plastic items so that scrap is re-incorporated in the new commodities.
Quality control improvement and process monitoring
Measures can be put in place to control the number of rejects and ensure it is at a minimum. This may be achieved through increased frequency of inspection as well as increasing the number of inspection points. For instance, installation of continuous monitoring device that is automated will help in identifying production problems before they get to an advanced stage.
Exchange of Waste
Here, the waste products from one process are used as raw materials for other processes. Exchange of waste is another means of minimizing waste disposal volumes especially for waste that may not be eliminated.
Shipping to the point of use
Here, raw materials as well as other components are directly delivered at the point of assembly or manufacturing plant ostensibly to minimize handling and use of enclosures and protective wrappings.
Zero waste
This systems approach is designed to eliminate waste from the source as well as at every point of the supply chain to ensure that no waste is produced. This design philosophy places emphasis on waste prevention and not waste management at the end of production line.
Waste Minimization for Households
Households can practice waste minimization by employing various techniques. One of the ways to achieve this is through purchasing adequate sizes and amounts of food. Purchasing large containers of paint when taking small decorating jobs or purchasing large volumes of food than you need will result in wastage. In instances where cans or packs may be thrown the remains of the containers should be removed to allow for recycling of the container.
Home composting, thoughtful use of electricity as well as reducing the number of car journeys is also a great way of waste minimization. Generally, buying fewer products or products that last longer, mending worn or broken equipment or clothing can also minimize household waste. Additionally, households can also minimize wastage of water and cycle or walk to various destinations as opposed to using cars thereby saving on fuel. Overall, personal waste reduction will have an effect on the general waste volumes. Consumers may also shun products without eco-labeling.
Waste Minimization in Building Construction
An assessment of streams of waste shows that energy savings may be achieved at minimal cost or no cost within the construction sector. Consequently, the environmental impact of materials may be reduced significantly with reuse.
While at it, it is important to ensure you work with the concerned authorities that include local councils, regional waste authorities, landfill operator or waste recycling contractors. Some of the construction materials that may be recycled include steel, aluminum, gypsum plasterboard, timber, concrete, glass, carpet, plastics as well as bricks and tiles.
It is important to put in place waste minimization strategies that have been agreed upon by both the parties. A team approach is highly effective in reducing waste.
Author Bio:
Erich Lawson is passionate about saving environment by effective recycling. He has written a wide array of articles on how modern recycling equipments can be used by industries to reduce monthly garbage bills and increase recycling revenue. You can learn more about environment savings techniques by visiting Northern California Compactors, Inc blog
