With multiple types of waste audits, how do you know what type is best for your organization? It all depends on your organization’s waste management goals and the type of information sought from an audit. This section walks through how to develop waste management goals and inform which type of audit is best for your organization. Leverage a Team Leveraging an existing team or creating a Green Team to strategize and implement waste reduction activities is a great way to ensure you are creating goals that are relevant to your organization, important to employees, and realistically achievable. Some tips foWe r pulling together your team include:
Obtain support from management
Recruit members across key departments to bring a variety of perspectives and solutions
Develop a mission statement to define why sustainability is important to the organization
Set regular meetings and develop sustainability priorities to help team members stay focused
Waste reduction is a great first priority for green teams as it is a very hands-on project and something in which all employees can participate
Importance of Waste Management Goals Having clear goals and measurable targets provides your team and organization with a shared understanding of what everyone is working towards and important feedback about progress. For the purpose of this toolkit, a goal refers to your organization’s long-term vision for the waste management program, while an objective refers to specific actions and initiatives put in place to reach the goal. When defining goals, it’s important to get input from management to ensure the waste goals align with your organization’s strategic priorities and employees as their support is necessary to actually make the goals come to fruition. Common themes for waste management goals include: 1 - Establishing realistic, but inspirational waste diversion goals
Examples: Zero waste to landfill; Increase organics diversion by 30%
2 - Implementing a new diversion strategy
Examples: Begin onsite composting in the next three years; Divert all plastic by-product from manufacturing processes
3 - Evaluating the success of current waste reduction efforts
Examples: Determine the need for additional recycling bin locations; Understand the level of contaminants in recycling to inform new education collateral
4 - Establishing environmental purchasing or supply chain protocols
Examples: Reduce wastes generated through procurement practices; Establish vendor and sourcing requirements and benchmark progress
5 - Incorporating circular economy strategies
Examples: Minimize raw material use; require recycled content products where feasible
6 - Ensuring regulatory and safety compliance
Examples: Annually verify compliance with hazardous waste requirements
7 - To qualify for a certification
Examples: LEED, True Zero Waste Certification, 513 Green Workplace Certification
8 - Identify operational savings through waste reduction opportunities.
Examples: Reduce landfill dumpster pickups from four times per week to two; Reduce paper purchasing by 50%
With goal setting, it is critical to strike a balance between setting goals that are both motivational and realistically achievable. This is where waste audits come into play! Waste audits allow you to understand your waste stream, quantify generation rates, and identify the best objectives and initiatives that will allow you to reach your goals. But which audit is best?
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