What is a Waste Management System?

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As for waste management, it is the measures utilized to manage waste in its entire life cycle, from waste generation to disposal or recovery.

Waste Disposal Methods

There are multiple waste management strategies and methods available. Modern waste management strategies are geared towards sustainability. Other alternatives for waste disposal is to reduce, reuse, and recycle waste.

1. Recycling &#; also known as physical reprocessing, recycling is ideal for the disposal of inorganic waste such as plastic, glass, and metals. Though organic waste such as paper and food can also be recycled, composting would be a better waste disposal method as it converts organic waste into nutrient-rich fertilizer.
2. Waste-to-Energy &#; or WtE on the other hand, is the conversion of non-recyclable waste into heat, electricity, or fuel using renewable energy sources such as anaerobic digestion and plasma gasification.
3. Anaerobic digestion &#; the biological reprocessing of animal manure and human excreta into methane-rich biogas. Plasma gasification uses a plasma-filled vessel operating at high temperatures and low levels of oxygen to transform hazardous waste into syngas. Another option for disposing of hazardous waste is bioremediation, the treatment of contaminants, toxins, and pollutants through micro-organisms.

The 5Rs of Waste Management

The 5Rs of waste management are a set of principles that guide efforts to reduce the environmental impact of waste. These 5Rs are:

1. Refuse &#; This involves saying no to things that are not necessary, such as single-use plastics or excessive packaging.
2. Reduce &#; This emphasizes the importance of minimizing the amount of waste generated by using fewer resources and being more conscious of consumption.
3. Reuse &#; Instead of disposing of items after a single use, consider finding ways to reuse them. This could involve repurposing items or using durable goods that have a longer lifespan.
4. Repurpose &#; This involves giving items a new purpose or use, extending their lifespan, and reducing waste.
5. Recycle &#; Recycling involves processing used materials into new products, reducing the need for raw materials, and lowering the overall environmental impact.

Waste Audit Approaches and Best Practices

Common approaches for conducting waste audits are record examinations, facility walk-throughs, and waste sorting.

• First approach &#;  involves looking at waste hauling and disposal records as well as contracts with recycling facilities.
• Second approach &#; requires a team of internal auditors to identify waste-generating activities through observation and interviews with employees.
• Third approach &#; is the physical collection, sorting, and weighing of a sample of the organization&#;s waste. This sample can be a day&#;s worth of waste or a collection of waste from each department.

To help with this, businesses can use a digital waste audit checklist before, during, and after a waste audit. It typically contains planning, waste sorting, and descriptions of the organization&#;s waste stream. Meanwhile, a comprehensive waste management checklist assists in enforcing proper waste protocols in organizations.

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Waste Management in the Construction Industry

While a waste management system is critical for any industry, there is added pressure on the construction industry to comply with waste management regulations.

For example, the Site Waste Management Plans Regulations in England requires projects over £300,000 to have a SWMP before starting construction.  While SWMPs are focused on construction waste, they can be adapted for use in other industries since, by definition, waste is an example of inefficiency. Though it may be impossible to eliminate the production of waste, using a waste management plan to make small, gradual improvements is a step towards more sustainable operations.

How to Create a Waste Management Plan

Before forming a waste management plan, get input and buy in from various stakeholders. Ask for suggestions on how to be more eco-friendly. Next, assess the strength of the current system by conducting waste audits. After reviewing the waste audit results, identify development needs including budget, estimated waste composition, current waste reduction, and waste generation.

Once goals for the waste management plan have been finalized, perform the following steps:

1. Determine the needed resources (containers, vehicles, etc.)
2. Assign a point person and clarify their responsibilities
3. Prepare a timeline for implementation

Aside from keeping all waste audit results, document the day-to-day waste disposal and resource use of the organization.

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Role of Training in Implementing a Waste Management System

The best way to engrain these guidelines into your workers is by putting together a robust training program on your waste management systems with the help of a digital operations platform.  By reinforcing your waste management system plans through regular training, workers will be better equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to identify potential hazards.

Food Waste Management System

As part of the Target-Measure-Act approach recommended by the World Resources Institute, food waste audits enable restaurants to set reduction targets, measure and report food loss, and be bold in taking action to combat food waste.

How to Conduct a Food Waste Audit in 6 Steps

According to the EPA, there are six steps in conducting food waste audits.

1. Develop audit goals and define targeted wastes (for donation, for animal feed, for composting, for recycling).
2. Complete a pre-audit questionnaire concerning access to food banks and off-site composters.
3. Plan the audit process through determining the waste sorting method, selecting a venue and a date, and obtaining waste sample bins.
4. Identify and accomplish audit logistics by coordinating with the staff and giving them the necessary supplies for conducting the audit, such as a digital checklist.
5. Collection and sorting of waste.
6. Evaluate audit results.

Hospital Waste Management System

Independent auditors perform clinical waste audits to assess a healthcare facility&#;s compliance with government regulations. In the UK, it is legally required to sort, code, and manage clinical waste, which is defined by the Controlled Waste Regulations as any waste which consists of:

• human or animal tissue, blood or other body fluids, excretions
• drugs or other pharmaceutical products, swabs or dressings, syringes, needles or other sharp instruments
• any other waste arising from medical, nursing, dental, veterinary, pharmaceutical or similar practice

While official clinical waste audits are conducted by independent auditors, healthcare facilities can also choose to prepare for these official audits by conducting their own frequent clinical waste audits. 

Hazardous Waste Management System

Hazardous waste management was a key factor in the formation of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Hazardous waste is defined by the EPA as waste that is potentially harmful to human health or the environment. However, hazardous waste is only subject to RCRA Subtitle C regulation if it is:

• a solid waste
• not excluded from the definition of solid waste
• not excluded from the definition of hazardous waste
• specifically listed as a known hazardous waste; OR
• meets the characteristics of a hazardous waste; and
• not delisted

Characteristics of a hazardous waste are ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, and toxicity. As recommended by the EPA, hazardous waste audit checklists are also helpful tools for businesses to use in identifying gaps in their waste management system.

What is waste?

The first step to eliminating waste is to understand what it is.

Waste is inefficiency that directly and negatively impacts your business, operations, customers, profit and growth.

&#;Let&#;s say there is redundant or incorrect data entry that happens during your customer order fulfilment,&#; Ambujakshan says. &#;Each error is a non-value-added activity and is a waste. Reducing that not only improves productivity, but also improves your employee morale. Identifying waste is eye-opening and also a steppingstone to operational improvements.&#;

Ambujakshan breaks down waste into the following eight categories. (Note that there is no standardized list of categories of waste. Some lists use different categories or have a different number of wastes, such as the &#;7 wastes of lean.&#;)

The

8 wastes

1. Overproduction

Producing more or sooner than needed.

How to spot it: Accumulation of material or work in progress found near workstations.

Consequences: Higher costs for storage and labour to move and manage material; hindrance to workspace flow, clutter.

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Possible solution: Proper planning of production to meet your customer demand.

2. Waiting

Idle workers or machines.

How to spot it: Employees are waiting for instructions, tools or material to complete tasks. Machines aren&#;t used to full capacity or at all.

Consequences: Costs resulting from lower productivity of employees or machines; opportunity costs are incurred due to underutilized production potential.

Possible solution: Improve communication with better work instructions and better capacity planning.

3. Inefficient operations

Operations that aren&#;t efficient or necessary and don&#;t add value for the customer.

How to spot it: Products are overprocessed (i.e. made to higher specifications than customers need). Excess scrap material accumulates at workstations.

Consequences: Higher production and material costs.

Possible solution: Establish production standards.

4. Transport

Excess movement of materials, products or information.

How to spot it: Items being moved more than needed, often criss-crossing paths and hindering other movement in the facility.

Consequences: Longer lead times, increased transportation costs.

Possible solution: Reorganize workspaces or processes to reduce transport and optimize flow.

5. Inventory

More inventory than needed, excessive handling of inventory items.

How to spot it: Examine inventory turnover data, physically review inventory.

Consequences: Higher costs for inventory storage space, management and maintenance; possible spoilage and other losses.

Possible solution: Review your inventory management.

6. Motion

Unnecessary movement of people or activities.

How to spot it: Employees spend excess time getting, moving or searching for tools, material or information. Excess injuries, errors, accidents and production delays.

Consequences: Longer lead times, higher production costs, lost time to injuries, lower production quality.

Possible solution: Improve workspace layout or production processes.

7. Poor quality

Poorly made or designed products or services.

How to spot it: Employees use incorrect processes; scrap material accumulates due to rework; high rates of defects, rework, returns and customer complaints.

Consequences: Lost sales; damaged brand; delivery delays; longer lead time; higher costs for labour, material and equipment to rework products.

Possible solution: Improve quality control, processes, standards, machine maintenance, training and work instructions.

8. Misused resources

Underutilized or mismatched employee skillsets.

How to spot it: Compare skillsets and assigned responsibilities; check performance evaluations for issues.

Consequences: Employees not performing to expectations, poor engagement, opportunity cost of underused skills.

Possible solution: Review employee responsibilities to better use talent; consider training to ensure employees can perform to the best of their abilities.

How do you identify waste?

A crucial way to spot waste is physically walking through the plant or office to observe how work is done. Efficiency experts calls this a Gemba walk.

The method was pioneered by the Toyota Motor Corp., which is renowned for its trailblazing efficiency methods.

Gemba means &#;the real place&#; in Japanese. The idea is to see in person the place where value is created&#;how work is actually done, not what it says in policy manuals or what managers think is happening.

&#;The most critical element for identifying waste is seeing the operations,&#; Ambujakshan says. &#;You need to be inquisitive during a Gemba walk. Be curious to understand the workflow and the rationale behind each process step. Observe and ask questions. The way actual work is completed could be different from the way managers think it is done.&#;

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