How can modern recycling strategies mitigate business sustainability? 

Europe is slowly but steadily thriving on its ambitious target to become a zero-waste global power by 2050. The EU has continuously employed different techniques and introduced new regulations to navigate the two billion metric tonnes of yearly waste, which consists mainly of construction and mining waste but also of municipal waste. 

Although about 60% of the EU has solved its waste issue through recycling, backfilling, and energy recovery, the remaining 40% is still struggling with landfills. Countries like Romania, Bulgaria, and Finland leverage landfills as the main waste disposal method. 

Besides governmental efforts to minimise municipal waste, companies also have the responsibility to contribute to the efforts of adopting a circular economy by having the right strategies for recycling and manufacturing processes. Using technology and modern techniques can support businesses’ innovation in sustainability. Here’s how. 

Managing waste with compactors

Waste compactors are some of the most efficient recycling methods since they compress various materials like cardboard, plastic, and paper products to a specific bale size. After being tied and placed into a pallet, the material can be sent off to the nearest recycling facility, helping companies avoid safety hazards and be more organised. 

Depending your business operations and the waste type resulted, you could choose different kinds of balers. For example, products from Mil-tek have specific balers for restaurants, whose waste volume is smaller, but can also provide balers for large waste volumes from facrtories and wholesalers. 

Waste compactors are great because they efficiently reduce waste volume and help save costs. At the same time, they promote proper recycling by allowing businesses to separate recyclable materials correctly. 

Approaching the Internet of Things

The Internet of Things is one of the most useful tools for the business ecosystem, and if introduced adequately, it can leverage significant results in waste management. Introducing IoT in your business could give insight into the entire process of handling waste, from the monitoring to the processing stage. 

Some of the most revolutionary IoT waste management devices include the following: 

• IoT smart bins that use GPS devices to find a strategic placement;
• IoT-based waste collection that optimises fuel consumption;
• Sustainable energy production from waste to maximise output; 
• IoT-based systems that detect dangerous toxins in landfills; 

Considering pyrolysis

Reaching advanced technologies allows us to dwell in more complex strategies and recycling measures, which is why you should consider pyrolysis if your business deals with massive amounts of waste. Although usually employed in the organic material treatment, it can successfully turn plastic waste into fuel. 

However, the process requires finding a specialized company that has the proper machinery in order to safely use high temperatures to successfully employ the thermal degradation.  It has been shown that plastics’ calorific value can be compared to oils’, making it suitable for being turned into fuel. 

Of course, you may consider this option if you can sustain the costs of such operation, as well as having enough plastics that cannot be recycled and can instead turned into something useful. 

Trying 3D printing from recycled materials 

Creating new products includes various costs of research and development, design, and launch. However, besides the development phase, companies must also purchase raw materials, which may not be sustainable. 

However, approaching recyclable materials could help lower the amount of new raw materials in the ecosystem and therefore diminish waste. 3D printing is one of the latest methods of creating new products, as it’s more environmentally-friendly since recycled materials can be introduced to create new ones and lengthen a products’ life cycle. 

Examples of the best filaments for 3D printing include the following: 

• PLA (Polylactic Acid) is made of corn starch of sugarcane;
• PETG (Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol-modified);
• HIPS (High Impact Polystyrene);
• TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane);
• Plant-based filaments made of soy or algae;

What does the EU do to lower waste? 

The European Union is employing a Waste Framework Directive in which objectives like innovative recycling and better waste management are worked on. Therefore, there are specific policies regarding waste for construction, packaging and sewage that help EU countries be more sustainable. 

The Waste Framework Directive addresses managing waste that does not:

• Endanger human health;
• Put natural resources or animals at risk;
• Cause noise pollution or unpleasant odours;
• Affect the countryside or nature in general;

The waste hierarchy proposed prioritizes the need for preventing waste. However, if that’s not possible, companies should re-use, recycling and recover waste, with disposal being the last resort. 

What happens if waste isn’t properly managed? 

Studies predict that the amount of waste will increase to 3.78 billion metric tons by 2050, which is more than one billion increases in only 30 years. Therefore, countries and governments must increase their efforts to manage waste because its effects will have a worrying impact on nature. 

More landfills translate into more gasses, such as carbon dioxide and methane, that are released into the atmosphere and lead to worsening climate change. At the same time, wildlife will be heavily affected, especially marine life, as a lot of plastic waste is dumped into oceans. 

Most importantly, waste affects human health, as many of the plastic products we use in our daily lives include dangerous plastics linked with various health issues. PFAS, for example, is one of the most hazardous chemicals found in non-stick cookware and stain-resistant clothing. 

Therefore, actions must be implemented immediately by both governments and companies because climate change cannot be stopped anymore, but its effects can surely be minimised. Animals and humans deserve a healthy future without facing extreme temperatures, breathing millions of toxins in the air, or adapting their lifestyles to a toxic planet. 

Can businesses recycle their waste more efficiently? 

Waste management is one of the most important parts of a company’s success and responsibility for the society. Unfortunately, not all companies recycle all their waste, which eventually ends up in global landfills and affects the environment. That’s why more businesses should employ better recycling strategies by approaching technologies like the Internet of Things, 3D printing, and waste compactors.