Whatever industry you are involved in, from an office-based company to manufacturing plants, all businesses produce some form of waste. With the growing environmental concerns around the world, it is more important than ever to ensure that your office waste disposal is done as responsibly as possible.
In this guide, we will look at your responsibilities as a business in terms of office waste disposal procedures, and how to ensure you are doing everything you can to dispose of waste properly.
What Do Businesses Need To Be Doing With Their Waste?
According to the UK Government’s official guidelines, businesses have several key responsibilities in terms of waste management in office buildings. According to gov.uk, ‘any waste that comes from a commercial activity’ is considered to be ‘business waste’.
Companies are responsible for disposing of their business waste in a way that is not harmful to others and causes as little damage to the environment as possible. Here are the five office waste disposal responsibilities outlined by the government:
Keep Waste to a Minimum
The guidelines state that businesses must keep waste to a minimum by ‘doing everything you reasonably can to prevent, reuse, recycle or recover waste (in that order)’.
Reducing waste in this way is not only beneficial to the environment, but is also good for your corporate image, and can also save you money too. There are various ways to keep waste down, including buying in bulk, which we will discuss in the following section.
Sort Waste Safely
As well as reducing waste, it is important that your office waste disposal procedures are up to scratch, as businesses are responsible for sorting and storing waste in a safe and secure manner.
Waste should be stored safely in suitable containers (with covers if needed) to make sure it doesn’t leak out or escape. Different types of waste should be stored in clearly marked separate containers to ensure that you are able to recycle the correct materials and that reusable waste is not contaminated.
Waste Transfer Notes
Every load of non-hazardous waste you remove from your business premises requires a waste transfer note. This is to ensure that the company that takes your waste is able to handle and dispose of it safely.
You should also keep a copy of your waste transfer notes, as you might be asked for evidence of your office waste disposal procedures from your local council or the Environment Agency.
Check Your Waste Carrier
Businesses that transport, buy, sell, or dispose of waste in any form must be registered to do so. It is your responsibility to check that your waste carrier is registered before employing them for your office waste disposal.
Fortunately, this is easy to do, and you can check whether your waste carrier is registered here.
Ensure your Waste is Being Disposed of Legally
In addition to making sure your waste carrier is registered, you must also ensure that they are not disposing of waste illegally. If you notice that this is taking place, you need to report them to Crimestoppers.
Following these five waste disposal responsibilities is straightforward once you have everything you need in place, but there are always ways you can improve your office waste disposal procedures as well.
Ways to Improve Waste Management
The first point in the Government’s guidelines is to keep waste to a minimum, and there are plenty of ways to do this, particularly regarding waste management in office buildings.
One particularly high cause of excess waste is the supplies you buy regularly, and there are various ways to make this process more efficient. As we mentioned above, ordering in bulk is beneficial, as it reduces packaging, fuel usage (through deliveries) and cost. This is a particularly good idea for essential products you use every day, such as cleaning and washroom supplies.
Another huge cause of waste is paper, and while recycling paper is helpful, having an office that is either partially or completely paper-free will hugely reduce excess waste. To reduce paper use, encourage staff to print only when they need to, and use digital records instead of paper files where you can.
Other ways to improve waste management include trying to avoid disposable plastic products (like cutlery and carrier bags) and reuse items like binders and file folders where possible.
Ensuring responsible office waste disposal is about making the right decisions and following the guidelines above. This should start from when you order supplies – by picking good suppliers and ordering in bulk – to reduce waste on a day-to-day basis, organising and storing waste securely, right through to the waste carrier you employ.
