Every business generates some waste, but how your business handles its waste has a big impact on the environment - and on your company's bottom line.
It's easy to begin reducing the waste your business generates by implementing some common-sense policies, being mindful to purchase durable long-lasting goods, reusing materials where possible, and proactively exploring options to change your business' equipment, materials, or processes where possible to prevent and reduce waste.
Get Started
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Put in place some common-sense policies aimed at waste-reduction. In an office environment, a policy aimed at reducing paper waste is a good place to start and should include one or more of the following:
- use electronic distribution instead of printed copies;
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set printer and copier defaults to 2-sided;
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minimize the use of envelopes in distribution of marketing materials;
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set standard document templates to have wider margins to fit more text on a single page;
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edit documents on the computer rather than printing them; and
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reuse single-sided pages as scratch paper.
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Conduct a waste audit of your business and explore opportunities to make processes more efficient and reduce inputs that don't contribute to a final product.
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Purchase durable items that won't wear out or need to be replaced frequently
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Reuse boxes and packing materials.
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Use reusable rather than disposable products, and offer customers reusable shopping bags.
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Explore the use of a Materials Exchange Program, through which one company's waste can be reused by another company.
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Donate your "waste" to a local charity so it can be reused by someone in the Indianapolis community rather than being thrown away.
Local Resources and Organizations
Through the Indiana Materials Exchange, one company's waste can be used by another company. The primary purpose of the Xchange is to disseminate information on surplus and waste materials either available from or wanted by industrial and commercial entities.
Indianapolis Habitat for Humanity Homestore
Any building or remodeling material that is in good shape and working appliances can be recycled through the ReStore, saving you disposal costs and providing you with a tax deduction opportunity as well. All operating profits from ReStore go to provide the necessary resources for Habitat to build affordable homes for our greater Indianapolis families.
An Indianapolis-based non-profit organization that accepts donations of a wide range of materials and makes them available for use in Indianapolis classrooms.
The Virtual Scavengers Project protects the environment by keeping computers and other electronics out of landfills and putting them in the hands of those who need them, while providing training and workforce development opportunities for the underserved of Indianapolis.
Other Resources and Organizations
Reduceyourwaste.org provides an interactive tool designed to help businesses reduce their waste effectively
Earth911.com for Business
- Waste Assessment
A step-by-step guide to conducting a waste assessment – the first step in creating a waste reduction program
- Create a Waste Reduction Program
A step-by-step guide to creating a waste reduction program for your business.
- Waste reduction guide
A thorough waste reduction guide for materials commonly used in business -paper, plastic, metal, glass, electronics, Hazardous Materials, organics, automotive, furniture
EPA
- WasteWise
EPA program providing information and recognition for businesses, local governments, and non-profit organizations of all sizes and from all industry sectors
- EPA Pollution Prevention Website
Pollution prevention (P2) is reducing or eliminating waste at the source by modifying production processes, promoting the use of non-toxic or less-toxic substances, implementing conservation techniques, and re-using materials rather than putting them into the waste stream. Site includes resources, tools, grants and funding information, and technical assistance available through the EPA Region 5 office.
Materials Reuse
Earth911.com for business: Guide to material reuse
A guide to reusing materials commonly used in business, including paper, plastic, metal, glass, electronics, organics, automotive, furniture
EPA Guide to International and National Materials Exchanges
This Web site provides information on markets for buying and selling reusable and recyclable commodities.
