TL;DR: This blog explores how customized recycling programs can drive measurable economic gains, from reducing waste costs to unlocking new revenue streams. By going beyond basic single-stream recycling, companies can realize significant cost savings, improved efficiency, and increased profitability.
Key takeaways:
Discussions about recycling often focus on the benefits tied to the environment and corporate sustainability. It’s true that recycling can and does lead to advantages in these areas, but only looking at those two categories means missing out on the complete picture.
The economic benefits of recycling for companies can be substantial, especially with a custom, carefully monitored recycling program that goes beyond the single-stream standard. The right approach to recycling offers opportunities to reduce certain costs and even unlock new revenue streams.
Let’s take a closer look at these positive economic effects of recycling.
Does recycling make economic sense? There are several broad economic benefits of recycling, with many positive examples, like job creation, shared by the National Institutes of Health. But what about the financial benefits for your business specifically?
With a thorough and tailored approach to the full spectrum of recycling, designed to meet the unique needs of your business, it is possible to reduce the overall cost of waste handling and disposal.
A full recycling framework doesn’t only divert waste material to recycling facilities from landfills. It also encourages the reduction of raw material use and the reuse of waste products and byproducts that still offer value for a company’s operations.
Together, these three actions can cut down on the total amount of waste generated, whether it’s recyclable or landfill-bound. With a 10% increase in tipping fees from 2022 to 2023 (the most recent data available), as the Environmental Research & Education Foundation reports, landfill disposal is increasingly costly.
Simply put, cutting down on waste output and increasing landfill diversion can drive cost savings.
The “reduce” element of a full recycling program encourages efficiencies in terms of input – reduced purchasing of raw materials and other resources that go into the production process. Changes in product design can also encourage higher reuse and reclamation to reduce procurement costs.
The exact nature of these changes and improvements will look different for every business. However, there’s no doubt that streamlined purchasing is a clear economic benefit of reducing waste across many companies and industries.
The recycling process can lead to profit, at least for some businesses in certain economic conditions. The economic benefits of e-waste recycling, metal recycling, and other avenues can be significant in the right market.
Understanding market demand in the recycling industry is crucial for tapping into these benefits. RoadRunner’s role as a tech-enhanced and fully managed partner extends to:
A comprehensive recycling program can create economic benefits by:
Businesses can benefit from recycling waste by reducing the costs of waste management (i.e., fewer pickups and reduced hauling costs and tipping fees). They can also sell in-demand recyclables in the right market conditions and reuse viable waste materials and byproducts of production.
Yes, recycling companies can make a profit when they operate efficiently and streamline key areas of their work. This includes collection and sorting, as well as downstream sales of materials. Profit is not a guarantee, however, and is highly influenced by commodity prices, contamination rates, transportation costs, and other factors.
Traditional waste disposal does not usually offer an economic benefit except for companies in that industry. Waste disposal is generally viewed as a cost of doing business, not a source of economic benefits. The right recycling program can help businesses reduce the cost of waste management and find other opportunities to save money while reducing waste.
RoadRunner’s RecycleMore™ program builds a customized and comprehensive recycling program for your company that can help reduce the costs of traditional waste management. Learn more about our RecycleMore™ program.