Do you realise the true cost of waste?

Many companies fail to see how much their waste processes are costing them. We liken this to the iceberg principle whereby only 1/10 of the iceberg is visible whereas 9/10 is hidden and that is the part that can do the most damage. This is the same in business operations all over the UK where Facilities, Health & Safety, Environmental and Waste Managers are just looking at the tip of the iceberg. Not the real hidden cost that is affecting the profitability of the company!

The real cost of waste is in the labour and inefficiencies used to handle and treat the waste on site. Companies often look at the tip of the iceberg, which could be the cost of bin liners or the cost of collections.

However, when you drill down and analyse the costs you can’t see, they start to mount. For example, how long do your staff take to clean the bins? How much liner are you wasting when you empty your bins? How full are your bins? How long does it take to change those bins? How many liners are you using on one bin to prevent bag splitting? How long does it take to clean up a spillage if the bin liner splits? What is the cost in time to clean up these spillages? As you can see, the list is endless. When we think of the cost of waste, we just see the visible cost of waste disposal.

How much is your waste disposal costing you? Are you just looking at the tip of the iceberg?