Managing waste
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But that's not always possible, of course, so the next best way to minimise waste is to try to re-use the materials wherever you can.
If you can't do that, you then have to consider whether the discarded items could be broken down to their raw materials again and made into new products.
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Notice that disposal doesn't even rate a mention in the 3 Rs, because it is the last resort, and should only be used if you've already exhausted the other possibilities.
Here are some practical examples.
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Reduce
Try to use materials as efficiently as you can, and minimise the amount of reject stock you produce. If you need to cut certain materials to specific sizes, work out which stock sizes will give you the best recovery, and therefore the least amount of off-cuts.
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Reuse
See if your suppliers can deliver their products in returnable packaging, such as pallets and drums. Then they can pick them up when they drop off your next order. The same thing applies to plastic containers.
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Recycle
Many products are now recyclable, and some companies offer to pick them up for free, or even pay you by the tonne when they collect them. Recyclable materials include glass, aluminium, steel, plastic, paper and cardboard, and toner cartridges.
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Disposal
If you need to store waste while it's waiting to be picked up and disposed of, make sure it is kept secure so that it doesn't blow away or escape into the storm water system. Remember, too, that you mustn't bury waste on-site - this constitutes a landfill activity and is illegal unless your company has an EPA waste licence.
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Materials in the waste bin generally go to landfill, so it should only ever be used for dry, solid waste.
Always drain and clean anything containing leftover fluid before you put it in the bin.
Depending on the type of liquid it is, you can then either recycle or treat it, or put it aside for removal by a waste disposal contractor.
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Vinyl flooring
In recent years there have been efforts made to collect and recycle old vinyl flooring products, rather than sending the waste material to landfill.
These efforts have been supported by industry schemes such as the Vinyl Council's Product Stewardship Program and the Green Star Best Environmental Practice Guidelines for PVC.
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Some manufacturers are also starting to use significant amounts of recycled PVC in their new flooring lines.
Armstrong flooring, for example, recycles old vinyl tiles and PVC bottles, and has two products - 'Eco Accolade' and 'Eco Terrazz' - that contain over 50% recycled material.
Learning activity
Audio 10 (mp3 |6|KB)To see an interesting poster on the decomposition rates of different types of garbage, have a look at the web page below:
For more details about the use of recycled PVC in vinyl flooring products, go to the following article by David Wheeldon, published on the Building Products News website:
Under the subheading 'Product news' (halfway through the above article), there are brief summaries of the latest products released by the main manufacturers.
Do you use any of these products? What sorts of projects have you used them in?
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