Recycling isn’t a priority for many companies. This is quite a shame because they’re missing out on an opportunity to improve their businesses. For many, recycling is all about saving the planet, but there are several other benefits to this ecological practice. Understanding the many reasons to embrace recycling can allow businesses to better structure their recycling programs with a focus on business improvement, while also helping out Mother Earth.
What Benefits of Recycling Can My Business Most Readily Realize?
While not all businesses can take advantage of every one of the benefits of recycling, most can realize at least one, and many can reap multiple benefits.
Reduced Waste and Lower Costs. A recycling program reduces the amount of waste produced by an organization. In most areas, businesses have to pay for private trash collection. The price is most often based on the volume of trash and the frequency of collection. Any effort that results in less trash, and a less frequent need for a pickup, lowers the expense.
Reuse and Double Your Savings. Sometimes, people and businesses throw away perfectly good items. In addition to recycling, businesses can reuse some things that would normally hit the trash bin. Restaurants have mastered this, realizing that many plastic containers, such as five-gallon drums, can be repurposed for other uses. Does your office need scratch pads for meetings and employee use? Before recycling, flip papers to their blank sides and stock the supply cabinet with usable paper for work. This way you save on paper costs and reduce your need for trash or recycling pickup.
Charge More. Did you know that 66% of all consumers worldwide will actually pay more for sustainable goods? A dedicated recycling program is a great thing to point out when you’re doing your product marketing, as it can justify an increased price tag over your competitors. The usual marketing caveats apply here, though; your competitors can add sustainability to their own repertoire, killing your advantage. But if you’re the first mover on recycling, you’ll be able to enjoy some time to drive up your pricing with little consequence.
Take Advantage of Trade-Ins. Reducing the amount of trash you produce can lower the costs of collection, but there are other economic benefits of rethinking what you throw out. Businesses should rethink tossing away obsolete office equipment, as it may have some value when it’s replacement time. Some retailers will reward electronic recycling with a credit towards the purchase of new equipment.
Sell Your Trash. Similarly, the things you want to discard might have value to someone else. Some things here are more obvious than others; if you’re involved in plumbing or HVAC contracting, and you’ve got copper pipe ends, those are scrap copper that are worth cash on a by-the-pound basis. It’s not just copper that can add a small revenue stream. Metal, in general, can be valuable, and before tossing out old things that still are functional, try offloading on eBay.
How to Get Help Putting the Cost Benefits of Recycling to Work
Benefiting from reducing, reusing, and recycling takes some organization and direction to produce meaningful results. Reach out to us at Edge Insights to get some help; we’ve been working with recycling programs for years and can help you set up just the right kind of program that maximizes the benefits of recycling, reducing, and reusing. Our waste cost management services can deliver up to 60% savings over your current costs, and if you’d like that kind of money back in your company’s pocket, just drop us a line to get started.