Page 33 - Solid Waste Analysis and Minimization a Systems Approach

THE THREE Rs AND THE TWO Es 11

tag line or catch phrase to promote solid waste reduction. By emphasizing economic ben-
efits, solid waste reduction and minimization benefits are much easier to sell to the deci-
sion makers because the efforts are placing attention on the financial health of the
organization as well. A plant manager of a battery manufacturing firm located in Toledo,
Ohio bluntly summarized this concept when he stated that his company “is in the busi-
ness of producing and selling batteries, not recycling.” It is easy to get caught up in the
good feelings associated with helping the environment, but unless there is a financial
incentive many organizations may give environmental concerns only lip service. A buzz-
word that is now emerging is “green washing,” which is a situation in which a company
publicly and verbally promotes their environmental efforts to bolster corporate images,
but falls short of the actions associated with the public statements. The goal of empha-
sizing the three Rs and two Es is to bridge the gap between public statements and cor-
porate actions by demonstrating that environmental concerns makes business sense.
A common misconception of organizations is that they do not have funds in their
budgets for recycling or environmental initiatives. The fallacy in this thinking is that vir-
tually all companies have a starting point or a budget for recycling and waste reduction:
the annual expenses for trash removal and janitorial efforts. The paradigm shift requires
considering the amount of money expended per year as the environmental or recycling
budget and devising creative methods and processes to minimize impacts to the envi-
ronment. Many organizational leaders are surprised to learn the potential cost avoidance
or revenue generated from becoming more environmentally conscious. A financial case
study is discussed later in this section highlighting some of the typical benefits.
Economic benefits from solid waste analysis and minimization can be achieved a vari-
ety of ways. The most common economic benefits derived from solid waste minimiza-
tion are listed below:

■ Cost avoidance. Organizations can save money by diverting solid waste streams
from the landfill back to the company through reuse or to an off-site recycler. The
monetary savings are derived from no longer paying a waste hauler to remove the
trash and dispose of it at the landfill.
■ Recycling revenue. Substantial additional revenue can be earned by selling recy-
clables to third-party processors or recycling commodity brokers. For example, 1 ton
of baled cardboard sells for $100 to $180 on the market.
■ Reduced raw material costs. When an organization is able to utilize in-process or
on-site recycling they reduce their raw material needs directly by replacing virgin
material purchases with in-house scrap, rework, or process by-products.
■ Reduced energy costs. By reducing the amount of materials within a facility through
reduction and reuse, material-handling costs can be minimized.
■ Increased sales. Many consumers and businesses look favorably on organizations
that are environmentally conscious and purchase products or services from them.
■ Increased productivity. As workers are engaged in efforts that they see as mean-
ingful, many of them take pride and put additional efforts into their work. In addi-
tion, absenteeism may reduce as well.

The following case study highlights several typical financial benefits associated with
waste minimization. This case study involves an automobile battery manufacturer that