The industrywide march to sustainable practices is having an impact on waste reporting.
Clients are becoming more demanding in the scope and depth of their reports and we are having to adapt, something we are happy to do.
Reporting on the volume of waste being sent to landfill has long been a feature of professional waste management. Over time this evolved to include the volume of recycling which in turn led to recycling ratios. In brief, this is a measure of how much waste is recovered and how much is sent to landfill.
Recycling has been lagging behind waste reporting, until now
Recycling 60% of waste by mass would be considered good for a shopping centre but not for a clean hi-tech industrial park where up to 90% can be achieved. Nevertheless it is a useful tool to measure waste recovery by.
As recycling became more sophisticated it has become mainstream to report on different types of waste. These include various types of materials: cardboard, plastic, paper and recently fluorescent tubes.
Hazardous waste has been included and as the start of the organic ban in the Western Cape looms closer – next year – organic waste also. Reporting is fairly comprehensive now. So what is different?
Clients are now demanding records of waste from “cradle to grave” ie where the waste was generated and where and how it was disposed of. In practice this means verification of the collection of the waste streams, verification of how it was transported and verification of where it was disposed of.
Effective recycling disposal reporting is now available at your finger tips
With the introduction of certain systems this is possible, but the systems have to be developed and are expensive to set up. Once the tablets and hosting services are in place it is possible to provide daily reports on the movement of waste. There is a delay for the uploading of the physical evidence – weighbridge slips showing the date, vehicle registration and mass. In time this will be automated as well.
The benefits for clients are enormous. In addition to certification from an independent party that there waste has been dealt with responsibly there is a report on an almost daily basis. This information allows the client to measure the mass and volume of waste and hence the effectiveness of the process. Measuring waste is one way of checking whether a process is efficient or there is unnecessary wastage.
The other important aspect of the new reporting system is sustainability. In addition to measuring clients can now track and verify what happens to their waste streams. If you want to claim that your organization is implementing sustainable practices this becomes an indispensable tool.
Smart Waste has developed its system with these needs in mind. We can now offer our clients a full waste report together with verification of transport and disposal supported by certificates and hard copy evidence.
Recycle Reg
Smart Waste
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