What Businesses Can Do to Meet Recycling Sustainability Goals in 2025
As Australia’s National Recycling Week begins on November 11th, we’d like to take this opportunity to encourage businesses to reflect on their sustainability practices and set actionable goals for the future. National Recycling Week serves as this reminder of the importance of recycling and waste reduction, and we’re all for encouraging companies to take a look at their current strategy, and adopt more sustainable practices in line with national and global sustainability targets.
Understanding the Recycling Landscape
Recycling is more than just a corporate buzzword; it’s a major component of sustainable development. As we’re sure you know, environmental concerns has been a current affair for a long time, which in turn has consumers made increasingly aware of the impact their choices have on the planet. Businesses that proactively embrace recycling not only meet regulatory requirements but also improve their brand image and attract eco-conscious customers.
In 2025, many organisations aim to achieve ambitious sustainability goals. These targets may include reducing waste sent to landfills, increasing recycling rates, and sourcing materials more responsibly. Not sure where to start? Here’s a few simple steps to follow to get you started during National Recycling Week, and into 2025:
- Assess Current Practices
The first step for any business is to evaluate its current recycling and waste management practices. This involves:
- Conducting a Waste Audit: Understanding what materials are being thrown away can help identify opportunities for recycling and waste reduction. Analyse the types and quantities of waste generated over a set period.
- Identifying Barriers: Determine why recycling may not be taking place. Are there logistical challenges, lack of employee engagement, or inadequate resources?
- Set Clear Goals
Once businesses understand their current recycling practices and identify problems or bottlenecks, you can then begin to set realistic and measurable goals. A few examples of goals might be:
- Increasing Recycling Rates: Aim for specific targets, i.e. achieving a 50% recycling rate by 2025.
- Reducing Contamination: Focus on minimising contamination in recycling streams by better training and educating employees or operators on what can and cannot be recycled.
- Implementing Sustainable Procurement Policies: Choose suppliers who prioritise recycled materials and sustainable packaging.
- Educate and Engage Employees
Employee involvement is critical to any successful recycling program. Businesses can enhance engagement through:
- Training Programs: Offer workshops to educate employees about recycling practices, the importance of sustainability, and how they can contribute.
- Incentive Programs: Create incentives or a rewards scheme for departments or teams that meet recycling goals, utilising competition as a motivator and engager.
- Regular Communication: Keep recycling efforts top of mind with regular updates on progress and successes through company newsletters, social media, or however you broadcast your company news.
- Optimize Waste Management Systems
Investing in technology can streamline recycling efforts and improve waste management efficiency. Here are some ways to do this:
- Implementing Smart Bins: These can monitor waste levels and provide data on disposal habits, which can massively help businesses adjust their recycling strategies accordingly.
- Utilising Waste Software: The world’s a very different place than it was five years ago, and the range of software available across all industries is infinite. A waste management software solution can introduce tracking, reporting, and analysis of waste management data.
Spotlight on NWI’s FlexPoint Itemised Waste Management Software
Software solutions like NWI’s FlexPoint Itemised Waste Management software play a pivotal role to sustainability goals of commercial buildings and facilities. Our ground-breaking waste software provides a comprehensive solution for tracking and managing waste, enabling businesses to optimise their recycling efforts.
FlexPoint iWM is specifically designed to enhance waste management practices across various facilities, including office buildings, hotels, restaurants, schools, colleges, universities, factories, and hospitals. This powerful tool provides comprehensive, legal-for-trade records for effective management of diverse waste streams.
Key Benefits:
- In-Depth Insights
Gain detailed analysis into specific tenants and locations, enabling you to tailor waste management strategies effectively. - Comprehensive Overviews
Stay informed with thorough overviews of recycling rates and data accuracy, ensuring you are always on top of your sustainability goals. - Informative Waste Stream Charts
Access visual representations that showcase the breakdown of recyclable and non-recyclable waste streams, providing clarity and enhancing decision-making.
With FlexPoint for Building Waste, you can embrace a transparent and precise approach to waste management, empowering your facility to meet its sustainability objectives.
Alongside every FlexPoint iWM installation, we provide a fully customised Analytics Portal. Our FlexPoint Analytics Portal is a secure, and flexible Software as a Service (SaaS) web platform. Create reports and dashboards that display the data thats most valuable to your business. With its user-friendly interface and powerful analytical tools, FlexPoint Analytics provides the most important insights that drive optimal performance in waste management and recycling efforts.
So, with National Recycling Week upcoming, perhaps it’s time to take a look at your company’s recycling practices and see if there is any room no matter how small – for improvement. If the idea of a waste management solution struck a chord with you, we’d love to answer your questions and talk you through your options.
Get in touch with us today to find out more about how FlexPoint Itemised Waste Management software can help you to achieve your sustainability goals.
