Aside from the regulatory requirements, there are many benefits to conducting a regular waste audit.  In many cases, our clients have enjoyed:

• Continued pride and satisfaction that is a result of being an exemplary corporate citizen and a good neighbour.
• Substantial long-term repeat cost savings through more efficient management of materials and reduction of waste disposal.
• An enhanced corporate image of the plant during customer tours and Quality Assurance
• A neater, cleaner facility.
• Regular waste audits and reduction workplans satisfy ISO 14001 requirements.
• Increased safety of employees through a decrease of clutter.
• Improved morale.
• Peace of mind through better management of resources and ensured compliance with government regulations

Proposed Strategy–Waste Evaluation

This is a description of the steps needing to be taken for this project.  A timeline for these steps will follow.

We will conduct the Waste Reduction Site Evaluation as a guideline towards the goal of improved recycle methods for the site.

1.    Workflow Analysis

A review of the waste will be done at the plant/ transfer station, to provide us with a benchmark to measure future performance.  This review will highlight potential sources of waste.  A physical assessment of the facility should be done to identify waste sources.  It is very valuable to take an in-depth look at the waste creation processes as well.

Waste generation, disposal practices and procurement policies will be reviewed.  These will be included with the audit and kept at the forefront as the evaluation is performed.  For procurement policies, we gather information about the recycle ability and reusability of materials used and we document this in the final evaluation report.

2.    Review of records

Waste disposal records will be reviewed and the numbers compiled to be compared against the physical results.  These records may be invoices from vendors and waste control data collection slips.

3.   Physical Waste Sampling

We propose a one-day sampling period.

Findings are recorded along with observations of waste generating and disposal practices for inclusion in the evaluation.  Data is collected through measurements of waste generated during previous shifts and with digital photographs to enhance the report.

One full load of waste is fully analyzed, along with office wastes:

• All bagged and loose waste will be inspected, sorted and photographed
• Findings will be compared against data supplied by SPH. and U-Pak records.

Compilations and Reporting

All of the information gathered throughout the evaluation will be compiled, analyzed and presented in the final report.  The final report will include:

• An overview of the waste generation and supply procurement practices.
• Types of waste being generated
• Estimated volumes of each category projected
• Quantitative and qualitative results of the waste evaluation and data in a practical, easily used form.
• Suggestions for the creative ways to reduce, reuse and recycle your materials before disposal whenever possible.
• Materials in the waste stream which should be diverted for recycle.
• Highlight areas in need as far as disposal practices are concerned, including source separation.
• Departmental findings, if applicable, and a comparison of incidental versus production waste.
• Recommendations based on findings, if applicable, for future use.
• Monthly Volume reports will be provided detailing actual volumes generated by individual commodity based upon a source separation recycle program.