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30-40% of the US food supply is wasted, equating to roughly 133 billion lbs even back in 2010. It’s an insane number that largely comes down to one thing; poor retail waste management.
We here at Trashco Inc. know it doesn’t have to be that way.
We know from experience working with retailers including Starbucks, Goodwill, and Academy Sports that effective retail waste management can save your business massive amounts of money while helping us to clean up your neighborhood and care for the environment.
That’s why this post will be going over some of the basics of effectively managing retail waste, including:
Let’s dive right in.
Source. Image in the public domain.
Retail waste management begins from the moment you open your doors - it’s not just about the trash you throw out! One of our primary goals in helping to clean up Laredo is to make the community cleaner and more environmentally friendly, and a massive part of that is helping retailers realize how much time and money they can save by properly storing their stock.
Improperly stored food, clothes, and materials result in masses of excess waste that just isn’t necessary. Simply put, the less trash you create by, say, always refrigerating perishable goods, or making sure that stock is kept where it won’t be battered by the elements or eaten by pests, the less work you’ll have to put in managing the resulting waste!
It’s not just improperly stored stock that results in more waste; the monetary and environmental impact of things like excess packaging or over-ordering is massive.
If your local Starbucks uses 16 gallons of milk per day, but they order enough for 30, that’s roughly 14 gallons per day of over-ordering that they will have to eventually throw out. It’s a massive waste of money, not to mention the incredible volume of plastic that would be thrown out on top of everything they usually produce.
Take the time to get accurate estimates of how much stock you use and make sure that you’re ordering appropriate amounts that won’t result in excess waste. While you’re at it, it’s also useful to estimate how much waste you produce on average because of our next tip…
Once you know how much waste you produce on average you need to rent a suitable container. The main thing to remember is that the larger the container you get, the less often you’ll need to have it emptied, which can save you more than renting a smaller one which requires collection more often.
Otherwise, make sure that you get a dumpster that suits the type of waste you’re producing. For example, roll-off containers on average hold more (we offer 15-yard or 30-yard options) but are suited to waste that doesn’t need to be fully encased, such as wooden pallets, plastic packaging, and most recyclable waste in general. Front load dumpsters are generally smaller (we offer 2, 4, 8, and 10-yard dumpsters) but are perfect for items that produce unpleasant odors before collection, such as general landfill trash and food waste.
Let’s say that you throw away roughly 40 bags of general or food waste and 3 pickup loads worth of recyclable trash per week. You could rent a 15-yard roll-off container (capacity of 6 pickups) and have that collected once per week, but that can result in some of your recyclable trash being sent to landfill and your roll-off smelling awful. It could even drive away customers or make your staff ill towards the end of the week.
It’s much better to rent a 15-yard roll-off and an 8-yard front load dumpster and have them both emptied once every two weeks instead. That way your waste is already sorted for maximum efficiency when we collect it, making it easier for us to do everything we can to protect the environment, reduce the amount of waste in landfill sites, and your front load dumpster stops any bad smells from escaping.
The reduced collection frequency could even save you money in the long run despite adding a front load dumpster to your rental list!
Another way to massively reduce the number of collections you need and the amount of landfill space your waste takes up is to rent a compactor. These are particularly good for recyclable or bulk materials that are suited to filling roll-off containers, crushing waste to pack as much as possible in a small space.
If you rent a compactor from Trashco Inc. we’ll even carry out regular maintenance on your compactor to make sure that it’s running perfectly every time you need it, letting your team focus on business as usual instead of managing trash.
Just remember to be safe while operating them - have more than one employee present and everyone trained to prevent accidents from misuse.
Knowing how often you’ll need your containers emptied isn’t an exact science; it’s a balance between how large the units are, how much waste you produce, and the relative price of more frequent collections versus getting larger containers.
Don’t panic! If you need help knowing what your best options are, have a chat with our team now to get expert advice that will suit your needs as a business. We’ll do everything we can to save you money while providing premium service and saving the environment.
Your team shouldn’t have to worry about the waste they produce at work. Whether they’re a manager at Academy Sports or a barista at Starbucks, they have their hands full making sure that your customers are happy and that the business is running smoothly.
So why not leave it to the experts?
With a 4.9 star rating from customer reviews, we here at Trashco Inc. put our customers’ satisfaction at the forefront of our sustainable approach to retail waste management. Check our track record if you don’t believe us! There’s a reason so many of our reviews mention specific team members (special shoutouts to Anita, Diana, and Crystal!) - we’re dedicated to cleaning up Laredo on time, every time, sustainably, and with happy customers.
