Driving Next-Level Waste Logistics
October 7, 2024
Removing, transporting, and disposing of waste is complicated. Ensuring the full process runs smoothly is even more so, and it can be daunting for businesses of any size. And while needs and goals are often unique from business to business, there are some common insights and suggestions every generator should be aware of to safely move their materials and effectively manage the logistics that surround them.
Common Challenges
Regardless of the industry, businesses generate waste. They also face more shared challenges than you’d expect—particularly when considering the logistics and transportation aspects of their waste management plan. Here are three common obstacles:
1. Cost Control
Businesses must design logistics operations that meet their diverse needs without upending their bottom line. Two of the biggest considerations within this space relate to equipment and storage capacity.
Depending on whether their waste is solid, liquid, hazardous or non-hazardous, generators need various equipment and vehicle types to effectively (and compliantly) package, contain, haul and dispose of their materials. On-site storage is another necessity—especially for low-volume items—so pick-ups can be efficient. Businesses also need to be able to handle time-sensitive or small loads, as well as unplanned emergencies. These factors often spur equipment and storage costs to swiftly balloon, so generators need to have strategies and systems in place that account for the right assets at the right time.
What’s more, is they need to expect the unexpected—that is, they need to have a plan in place that prepares them for possible variables and divergencies within their operations. Doing so and keeping costs within scope is a tricky balance.
2. Regulatory Expertise
To manage waste sustainably, a business must be able to navigate complex webs of regulations and compliance standards at local, state and federal levels. They must have a deep knowledge of zoning and hauling permits; hazardous waste transportation, storage, and disposal licensing; EPA- and DOT-based environmental certifications; and a variety of other qualifying and reporting standards.
Violations inevitably create delays that impede business, fines that harm it, and actions that can cripple it through license suspensions or revocations. When it comes to compliance, especially for high-risk waste streams, there’s no room for error. Most companies don’t have that level of overall expertise on staff and struggle in some key areas. These gaps ultimately affect operational efficiency and their bottom lines, so genuinely understanding what’s expected and what’s at stake is critical to a smoothly functioning business, let alone a successful one.
3. Administrative Dexterity
The nature of transportation and logistics is that it’s detail-oriented, rules-based and form-intensive, even in a digital world. This creates a heavy administrative burden in which generators must adeptly juggle a bevy of processes for permits, licensing, driver and load scheduling, material tracking and reporting, verification and transparency, equipment maintenance, and overall program management. It’s a lot to manage and many teams can get easily overwhelmed. Slip-ups can cause back-ups, overload, and expensive fines so back-office teams really need to get these support functions right in a timely manner.
How a Waste Management Partner Can Help
Businesses can benefit from consulting or partnering with a waste management expert for many reasons. Here are three typical scenarios:
- When a generator doesn’t have the in-house capability or capacity to efficiently handle all the connected pieces of waste handling, shipping and disposal.
- When a business wants the job done correctly, efficiently, and at a reasonable, predictable cost from the project's start to its finish.
- When a company wants to improve sustainability scores throughout their waste efforts by optimizing routing and fuel use to reduce carbon footprints, and by choosing greener processing options.
The Difference of a Skilled Solutions Provider
Experienced, capable sustainable waste solutions providers have been doing what they do for decades. Their long-standing expertise has created an efficient business model that translates into time and cost savings for their customers. They possess regulatory compliance excellence on the federal, state, and local levels and their reporting is accurate, detailed, and fast. Most importantly, they offer peace of mind, so you can focus your time and attention on running your core business.
But what does the right partner look like?The right solutions partner will offer convenient, cost-effective and reliable pick-up services. Ideally, they will be a one-stop shop, delivering end-to-end waste solutions that are not only comprehensive, but tailored to customers (and challenges) of any nature or size. A good candidate for such solutions will likely have:
- Decades of industry-leading expertise and a proven history of innovation
- An advanced, nationwide network of facilities, vehicles and equipment
- A stellar reputation alongside strong community, industry, and governing body relationships
- Attentive account management and customer service
- Tailored, transparent, and easily accessible data and reporting
