All businesses produce waste. Employees bring in food, paperwork is needlessly printed, and excess packaging is produced. If your business waste is treated as an afterthought, it could cost you money.
A waste audit will help reveal how much waste your business produces, which areas are responsible, and the gaps in your waste management infrastructure. These audits are valuable tools for improving process efficiency and becoming more sustainable.
This article details the main benefits of a waste audit, the step-by-step process of conducting a waste audit, variations in different industries, and what to expect in a waste audit.
What is a business waste audit?
A waste audit is a comprehensive review of your waste management system, including waste handling methods, collection strategies, the type of waste materials, and any improvements that can be made.
Each waste audit will look different depending on the business in question. For example, the content of factory waste will depend on the products being manufactured. If you have an especially large organisation, it’s often easier to audit individual departments, rather than the total. This approach can enable waste audits to evaluate specific areas of a business or identify inefficient processes.
A business waste audit aims to gain valuable information about how and where your operation generates waste. From here, you can implement a waste management strategy that helps reduce the amount of waste produced and/or improve disposal methods. Waste audits can also be the first step in meeting business recycling targets.
Pre-acceptance waste audits
A pre-acceptance waste audit separates waste from a single location and details its origins. This ensures proper waste disposal methods, treatment, and recycling options. Pre-acceptance waste audits are a requirement for healthcare facilities to remove potentially harmful waste products safely and efficiently.
Government guidance states that waste management partners ‘must implement waste pre-acceptance procedures so that you know enough about a waste (including its composition) before it arrives at your facility’. If you’re in charge of waste management for a healthcare institution,
you’ll need to complete a pre-acceptance audit before any qualifying waste can be disposed of.
Pros of a waste audit for businesses
There are many reasons why you should complete a waste audit for your business, including:
- Evaluate current measures – Auditing business waste is a great way to reveal any shortcomings of your waste management system and identify the key areas causing problems. It also gives you a benchmark for future data, allowing you to see progress more clearly.
- Cut costs – Waste audits almost always reveal opportunities for businesses to save on costs. For example, increasing recycling efforts will reduce the need for waste disposal services. This may even lead to new sources of income through the sale of recyclable materials.
- Improve working conditions – Efficient waste management can make a big difference in improving workplace conditions, especially if workers operate near waste-producing processes/equipment.
- Comply with waste disposal regulations – It is a legal requirement for UK businesses to dispose of hazardous and confidential waste appropriately. A thorough waste audit can help you avoid being in breach of the regulations.
- Create appropriate waste storage and disposal solutions – A waste audit will reveal which parts of your business produce the most waste, allowing you to implement targeted storage and collections. You can also tailor your solutions according to the type of waste produced in each area.
- Eco-friendly commitments – Completing a business waste audit establishes clear waste management targets and helps you to deliver on corporate sustainability promises.
How to do a waste audit for your own business
- Understand your business waste – Write down the main types of waste created by your business and where you would expect them to come from. This helps establish trends and patterns which might crop up in the audit.
- Site analysis – Catalogue features of your business premises that create waste or help control waste during regular operating hours.
- Choose a time – Complete your waste audit during an average week to measure your business’ typical waste levels. You should also prepare any equipment needed to complete the audit.
- Separate the waste – When ready, sort the waste into different categories. These categories should be decided according to your business operations. For instance, if you produce food packaging waste from business processes, this should be separated from the food waste produced by workers.
- Look through your findings – Analyse your data by tallying the waste produced in each category. Based on the time period and location, you should be able to make some conclusions regarding which areas need improvement.
- Make changes – Finally, you must create a plan of action to implement the appropriate changes. This could mean updating company policies and introducing more bins or signage.
What does a business waste audit look like in my industry?
When conducting a waste audit, the process should be adapted to reflect the business and any features of its operation. As such, no two business waste audits will look the same.
Office waste audit
Even offices with mostly digital infrastructure can produce large amounts of paper and cardboard waste. Strategies to deal with office waste should focus on commercial recycling measures for these materials. Another common feature of offices is a communal eating area. An office waste audit would emphasise the need for food and packaging waste storage options around these areas.
Manufacturing waste audit
Manufacturers are among the biggest waste producers in the UK, with updated statistics estimating that 40.4 million tonnes of commercial and industrial (C&I) waste was generated in 2022. On top of this, businesses affected by the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging may need to give evidence proving they have met their packaging recycling obligations for each material specified. The EPR for packaging materials could affect businesses in many industries, not just manufacturers. A comprehensive waste audit is an effective strategy for manufacturing businesses to cut down waste generation and provide evidence of recycling initiatives when required.
Restaurant waste audit
Restaurants must utilise a high percentage of their food produce each week before it spoils, to ensure they remain profitable. A restaurant waste audit is extremely valuable here, as it can analyse the types of waste generated by different areas in the restaurant. This is important as certain consumables, such as meat and fish, are more expensive for the business than others. These kinds of audits may also be beneficial for dealing with waste from other social spaces like pub waste and event waste.
What are the signs of a good waste audit conducted by a waste provider?
An outside perspective can be key to auditing a business’s waste production and management systems. Experiencing an insightful waste audit is often a sign of a wonderful waste provider. These are the signs of a good waste audit:
- Personalised methodology – Waste auditing would be done in a way that’s logical for your business and the space. If a provider gives you a cookie-cutter strategy which doesn’t align with your needs, it’s best to keep looking.
- Efficiency and flexibility – The waste audit is completed within a strict timeframe to work around business schedules.
- Detailed findings – A good waste audit should provide adequate detail in the data and recommendations provided. Suggested improvements to the business’s waste management would be tailored to your goals.
- Knowledge of company location – Being familiar with your local area is the cherry on top for a good waste audit. Working with a local waste management specialist is more likely to get you recommendations suited to your local area. Yorwaste serves the whole of North Yorkshire.
Book your free business waste audit today
A waste audit is a long-term strategy that informs commercial waste management and can help you achieve your business goals. We bring extensive experience across multiple sectors, serving as trusted waste management partners for businesses across North Yorkshire.
You could be overpaying for your current waste collection and disposal services. Get a professional waste audit for any improvement measures when you use Yorwaste.
Get in touch to discover how much money your business could save whilst enhancing sustainability and streamlining internal processes.
