Page 25 - Solid Waste Analysis and Minimization a Systems Approach

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DEFINITION OF SOLID WASTE

ANALYSIS AND MINIMIZATION

1.1 Introduction

In the extremely competitive world of business and manufacturing, solid waste disposal
is often overlooked. In many companies, few stakeholders are aware of the destinations
of the generated wastes and associated costs. There are associated costs with excess raw
materials, scrap parts, poor use of resources (including labor), and outdated materials.
All of these contribute to a company’s solid waste stream, and must be addressed when
calculating the costs of disposal. In addition, it is not an ecologically or economically
sound decision to allow recyclables to enter landfills. Thus, destinations and the costs
associated with them must be addressed.
Solid waste disposal typically accounts for 3 percent of a manufacturing organiza-
tion’s expenses. In 2007, Ford Motor Company (Ford) reported net revenue of $172.5
billion and expenses of $153.6 billion, with a profit of $18.9 billion, and General Motors
(GM) reported net revenue of $181.1 billion and, expenses of $166.6 billion, with a profit
of $14.5 billion. Solid waste disposal costs are approximately $4.6 billion and $5.0
billion for Ford and GM, respectively. Considering the multibillion dollar expenses
associated with solid waste disposal for these companies, significant cost savings can
be realized by analyzing and minimizing solid waste generation.
As indicated in the previous example, waste analysis and minimization can be finan-
cially very advantageous to companies and should be evaluated. However, many com-
panies do not have any personnel capable of performing the evaluation due to time
constraints and lack of knowledge and experience in the field. The fulfillment of this
need for an experienced evaluator with available time has led to research opportunities
and a competitive disposal and recycling market, and has opened new fields of recycling.
It is easy to get wrapped up in the emotions of environmental protection, waste mini-
mization, and recycling often associated with environmental activists or “tree huggers.”
The real challenge is to have these initiatives make business sense for corporations around

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