How You Can Start The Zero Waste Movement In Your Business
Going zero waste and the adjustment that comes with it is not an easy task. But when you do it correctly, you get to harness multiple benefits not only to your business but to the planet as well.
Zero waste is the total eradication of waste products that end up in landfills, such as styrofoam food boxes, and so much more. Driven by the "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" philosophy, zero waste is a cost-effective strategy that is not only sustainable but also helps in reducing the damage that is inflicted upon communities that are near landfills. Statistically speaking, landfills all around the world emit up to 70 million tonnes of methane into the atmosphere, so if you want to start reducing these numbers by having your business go green, here's how you can!
1. Evaluate how your business currently handles its waste
This step helps you to identify the type of waste that your business typically generates. If you are a food business, you typically are generating waste through harmful single-use plastics. As such, you should use this step to assess whether or not these waste products are 'essential' to the business' operations or is this something that you can do away with.
On the other hand, you should check the type of plastic being used instead. In doing so, opt for PET plastic containers instead as they’re safer and recyclable. This will give you the opportunity to look for more inexpensive and eco-friendly alternatives which help you save not just money but the planet as well.
2. Identify what you want to achieve and set goals
Creating certain goals based on the evaluation of your current waste management helps in letting you know if your zero-waste strategy is effective or not. Setting goals in place will also help your business stay right on track towards the fulfillment of these goals, as well as to motivate your employees to help in its achievement.
3. Start to implement necessary measures and adjustments
Shifting to zero-waste means that there will be changes to how your business operates and where you get your resources from. Use the goals that you came up with to help you identify how you can achieve them - if you are a food business, you might want to switch to biodegradable items such as paper bags instead of plastic, paper take out food boxes instead of styrofoam, etc.
4. Re-evaluate current progress and see your goals are met
Once everything is in place, check if your strategy is going as planned so that you know you are actually doing zero-waste effectively. If things are going accordingly, follow through with your measures diligently. But if you find that there are certain aspects in your strategy that can be improved upon, set necessary changes accordingly and re-assess how you can deploy these changes to work in favor of your business.
Conclusion
Switching to more eco-friendly alternatives could either make or break your business, that’s why a comprehensive plan on how you can successfully make the switch is needed. You want to make sure that whatever changes you implement are going to work in favor of your business, not against it.