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Manufacturers transform parts and raw materials into commercial products, but they still deal with tonnes of packaging waste, scrap, and end-of-life products. Even among manufacturers intent on minimizing waste, left behind scrap or packaging is inevitable.

Recycling must be a key element of any manufacturing plant’s waste solutions. However, the volume and variety of waste often means you must take a careful approach to sorting your waste if you want to reap the benefits, which range from increased operational efficiency to lower overhead to a smaller environmental footprint.

How do you get started? LSM are waste management experts, and we recommend the following processes to help you identify gaps in your waste management plan and build a stronger, streamlined system.

Audit Your Manufacturing Waste Management Process

Are there areas for improvement in your waste management process? You might hazard a guess and say “probably. However, an audit of your waste management plan can turn that “maybe” into an “opportunity.”

In short, an audit requires you to:

• Identify the types of waste materials generated
• Calculate the approximate weekly volume of each type of waste
• Determine where each waste material currently ends up

Audits are important because missed opportunities tend to hide in the details of a plan.

For example, many LSM clients find they produce more cardboard waste than they previously realised. Dealing with more cardboard means increased collection schedules, lost square footage in warehouse spaces, and higher costs for disposal (depending on the method chosen).

Armed with this knowledge, manufacturing companies can then identify opportunities to better manage their cardboard recycling, such as through the use of cardboard balers.

Your audit may tell you that you:

• Generate more waste than previous thought
• Create less waste than you believed
• Send items to a landfill that can now benefit from recycling
• Lose productivity handling waste that could be automated or resolved with a tool, such as a waste baler.

See the most popular waste balers used by manufacturing facilities here.

Consider Unique Solutions for Your Waste Management

Often, waste management seems black and white: your waste either goes to the landfill or a recycling facility.

While this is true of many forms of waste, it’s helpful to remember that you have more options than you realise. For example, the Volkswagen Pallet Project diverted pallets away from landfills or waste management facilities and sent them back to the community for reuse in local projects.

Of course, much manufacturing waste needs to be carefully disposed of. However, you might be surprised at what scrap or packaging could be reused instead of recycled.

There is Opportunity Lurking in Your Waste

All manufacturing facilities can benefit from streamlining, reducing, and eliminating their waste. Doing so does not simply reduce the cost of a line item: it opens up new opportunities for your business beyond money saved.

By taking the time to perform a waste management audit and identify strengths and weaknesses, you will learn more about the true cost of waste at your manufacturing site.

Are you ready to get started? Contact the LSM team to learn more about how recycling balers can play a role in reducing and streamlining manufacturing waste.