When a business assesses its expenditure and looks for ways to become more efficient, as all businesses should do on a regular basis, they often overlook the rather unattractive subject of their waste management.
As unappealing as it is, waste is one of our favourite subjects at Great Annual Savings Group; mainly because it offers a real chance to make savings with little effort.
SO HOW IS YOUR TRASH COSTING YOU CASH?
1. YOUR BINS AREN’T BRIMMING.
You’ll be charged for collection of your bin load based on its capacity. So if your building has 10 bins collected and they’re all 90% full on collection, you only really need 9 bins – you’re paying for a bin too many.
The aim here is to monitor how much of your waste capacity is used and plan how to combine it effectively.
2. LANDFILL IS A TAX ON YOUR FINANCES.
Not only are landfill sites gobbling up the environment, they’re also taking a bite out of your business’ bottom line. Did you know that general waste collection incurs a landfill tax of £84 per tonne (and rising)?
Yes, a tonne of waste sounds a lot when you consider it per head. But for an office building, a leisure club, a pub or a similarly-sized business, it mounts up very quickly. Resourcing experts Veolia reported that SMEs paid £470 million in landfill tax alone in the UK in 2012 – so this isn’t an insignificant amount. It was also only £64 per tonne back then.
The answer is to divert as much waste as possible through recycling channels because it’s free. Not only is this the right thing to (as it has always been), it now pays to do so.
3. YOUR COLLECTION LACKS PERFECTION.
What day is your waste collected and who is your contract with? Unsurprisingly in waste management, as with all variable business costs, there are some tricks of the trade which can be valuable to learn.
If your waste is collected from your premises and you’re the only firm that’s being collected, you’ll be charged a premium for the travel costs. However, if you’re one of several pick-ups in your area then you can negate this cost.
The way to avoid this is to ensure your contract is both at the best price to start with and also part of a wider collection schedule on the same day as others with the same contract in your area.
The premise is simple, but it can take a bit of working out as you can imagine!
So, there you have it. Your trusty waste paper basket is sneakily pilfering your funds without you realising.