Waste Prevention and Reuse

Waste Prevention in the Commercial Sector

Why do it?

Have you ever looked at your dumpster and thought about money going into the landfill? Well, you should! Most of the waste in Oregon comes from the commercial sector and each business is paying those disposal costs. Just think about the money you can save by avoiding disposal costs—waste prevention is the key to success! Moreover, by examining internal processes during a waste audit, some Oregon companies have found ways to not only reduce or prevent waste, but also to change processes that improve their bottom line.

Examples of Oregon case studies and extensive waste prevention strategies by business type can be found on-line at the Commercial Waste Reduction Clearinghouse (CWRC).

General Tips

Equipment	Landscaping	Overstocked/Surplus Items
Packaging	Purchasing	Writing/Printing Paper

Purchasing

• Establish purchasing guidelines to encourage waste prevention (durable, concentrated, reusable, high quality).
• Centralize purchasing to eliminate unnecessary purchases and ensure that waste reduction purchasing policies are followed.
• Track material usage to optimize ordering.
• Consider length of warranty and availability of repair services when purchasing equipment. (Contract for maintenance to extend the life of products).
• Substitute less toxic materials for toxic materials (e.g., vegetable-based inks, water-based glue, markers and paints).
• Use plastic trash can liners made of recycled HDPE instead of ones made with LDPE or LLDPE. They contain fewer raw materials, work equally well for most uses, and generally cost less.
• Order merchandise with minimal packaging or layers of packaging. Contact manufacturers directly and express purchase preferences.
• Vote with your dollars by buying products with minimal packaging or packaging containing recycled content.
• Request that deliveries be shipped in returnable containers.
• Order supplies by voice mail or electronic mail, whenever possible.
• Use optical scanners, which give more details about inventory, allowing more precise ordering.

Packaging

• Eliminate unneeded packaging or layers of packaging.
• Use lightweight packaging to conserve materials.
• Use reusable boxes and mailbags for shipping to branch offices, shops, and warehouses.
• Print a message on products to encourage consumers to recycle or reuse the packaging.
• Reuse packing materials (e.g., foam peanuts, bubble-wrap and cardboard boxes) or find someone who can.
• Set up a system for returning cardboard boxes and foam peanuts to distributors for reuse.
• Return, reuse and repair wooden pallets and spools and use a clamp system instead of new pallets for outgoing shipments.
• Purchase supplies with recycled content.

Writing/Printing Paper

• Make double-sided copies whenever possible.
• Reuse envelopes and use two-way envelopes.
• Circulate memos, periodicals and reports, rather than distributing individual copies.
• Use voice or electronic mail or post memos on a central bulletin board.
• Make scratch pads from used paper.
• Use outdated letterhead for in-house memos.
• Eliminate unnecessary forms. Double side forms or redesign them to fit on a half sheet.
• Use narrow-ruled notebooks.
• Save documents on floppy disks instead of printing hard copies.
• Use central files for hard copies.
• Print more words on each page (e.g., smaller font, and narrow margins).
• Proof documents on screen when possible and teach employees to use print preview and spell check before printing.
• Fill the printer with paper already used on one side and print drafts on the other side. (Set this as the default print and instruct employees to use the manual feed to use clean paper.)
• Use same draft of report for corrections by several people.
• Accept final in-house documents with hand corrections.
• Donate old magazines or journals to hospitals, clinics, or libraries.
• Keep mailing lists current/one copy per address.
• Call or mail postcards directly to senders asking that your name be removed from mailing lists.
• Provide convenient/accessible recycling stations for employees.

Overstocked/Surplus Items

Set up an area for employees to exchange used items.

Advertise surplus and reusable waste items through a commercial waste exchange. For a list of NW Material Exchanges, consult www.NWmaterialsmart.org.

Equipment

• Consider renting instead of buying equipment that is used only occasionally.
• Use remanufactured office equipment, whenever possible.
• Institute maintenance practices that prolong the life of copiers, computers, and other equipment.
• Reclaim reusable parts from old equipment.
• Use refilled or remanufactured fax and printer cartridges.
• Sell or give old furniture and equipment to employees or donate it to a local charity.
• Use retreaded tires on company vehicles.
• Rotate tires on a regular basis to prolong tire life.
• Keep tires properly inflated, this saves energy and improves wear.
• Install reusable heating, ventilation and air conditioning filters.
• Replace incandescent with energy efficient fluorescent lights.
• "Delamp" light fixtures when work space is over lit (i.e., in 4 lamp fixtures, take out 2 of the lamps) and use the lowest watt bulbs necessary to light your home and office.

"Outside" your Business

Landscaping

• Compost organic waste and use in landscaping operations. Compost is a natural nutrient-rich substitute for fertilizers!
• Incorporate waste reduction into the planning process for special projects such as: minimizing discards from construction and demolition; reusing materials; providing extra containers for recycling, etc.
• Utilize organic gardening techniques to avoid the use of pesticides whenever possible.
• Utilize reusable packages that are designed to be returned to the manufacturer or distributor to be refilled.
• Reuse plant containers & flats or return them to a local nursery for reuse.
• Use plants that require less pruning and use native plants whenever possible.
• Choose plants that fit into the space available to avoid trimming.
• Choose slow-growing/drought resistant/native species and evergreens, when updating or developing a landscape design in order to reduce the production of plant debris and minimize water and fertilizer use.
• Using both winter and summer perennials can give year-round color without the cost and waste of replacing annual plants.
• Design landscape based on anticipated use (turf vs. shrubbery).
• Choose dwarf or other slow growing varieties of turf that require less water.
• Incorporate "Grasscycling" into your lawn care. Leaving grass clippings on a lawn can significantly reduce the waste volume while conserving soil nutrients and saving fertilizer costs. Use a mulching mower to cut grass into smaller pieces, thereby allowing the clippings to decompose faster. Regular mowers can be retrofit with mulching blades to further cut new equipment costs.
• Composting leaves and branches along with grass trimmings and other organic matter will create a high-nutrient soil additive used for landscaping.
• Use compost as a topsoil amendment or request that your landscaper use it.
• Chipping wood and other ground debris will provide mulch used for weed reduction and moisture conservation around interior plants or landscaped trees and shrubs.
• Locate an off-site composting site to reduce the costs of on-site management or disposal of yard waste. Contact your hauler and local government to find out about pick-up and drop-off options for your yard waste.

[print version]