WASTE AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Companies, local governments, schools, and other
organizations must develop contracts with haulers, recyclers,
and disposers to manage their waste.
In the past, haulers and disposers developed a simple
contract based on weight or volume.
These haulers, in turn, must pay landfills for disposal
costs. From waste
generator to contractors, there is little accountability for
limiting waste or promoting recycling.
Resource management, however, emphasizes strategic
contracting with haulers, recyclers, and other stakeholders.
With this type of contracting, waste generators and
contractors are rewarded for diverting waste and increasing
recycling.
Benefits of Resource
Management
Implementing resource management has shown to benefit
practicing organizations in a number of ways, including:
Increasing the
volume of recycling
Reducing cost
savings from current disposal contracts
Increasing the
volume of waste diverted from landfills
Combining
separate contracts for hauling, disposing, consulting, and
cleaning into one contract for more services.
Effective of Resource
Management
Developing a contract that aligns contractors’ goals with
waste generators’ goals makes waste management more efficient.
Resource
Management contracts:
Create a fee
“cap” for the volume and weight of waste hauled.
Generators are rewarded monetarily for limiting their
waste volume.
Create a
partnership between both generator and contractor.
Develop
contractor services that go beyond materials and transport.
Contractors provide information, data management, and
design services.
Traditional contracts:
Charge a unit
price to the generator based on volume, weight, or pick-up
frequency.
Allow minimal
contact and communication between generator and hauler.
Provide minimal
service, such as a hauling, with no feedback or interest in
impacting waste generation.
Developing Resource
Management
Resource management is all about strategic contracting.
Other organizations that have implemented resource
management have followed these practices:
1.
Determine the
scope of services you want.
Evaluate current and future goals and identify your
current hauling and disposal services in use. Establish your
waste reduction and recycling goals.
2.
Obtain input
from contractors.
Hold meetings with several “bidders,” and get their suggestions
on how they would achieve your goals.
3.
Make sure that your contractor
has access to managers or coordinators who will influence and
inform others.
4.
Develop
specific pricing information for materials, maintenance,
hauling, disposal, data collection,
and other services. Include incentives that will equally benefit
contractor and waste generator, like cost savings or bonuses for
decreasing waste volume. Implement fees for failure to meet
performance goals.
Sample Services from
Resource Management Contractors
The types of services included in resource management
contracts can be individualized.
Many contractors may already offer some combination of
these services.
Education and
training
Waste tracking
systems
Garbage and
recycling. Most hauling contractors include garbage and
recycling pick-up in their services.
Effective resource management may include sorting
recyclables. Many contractors also include recycle processing,
including marketing and outreach, in addition to pickup.
Yard Trimmings.
Some contractors may offer to collect yard waste
seasonally. Though
the size and amount of the waste may be limited, this type of
collection can reduce illegal dumping.
Additionally, contractors may choose to include yard
waste processing, usually composting, in their services.
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