In case you did not already know, KenBay is a company that is committed to a zero landfill initiative. We promote the practice of seeking alternate solutions to landfills. We like to partner with other companies who share this viewpoint, and we want to encourage those who aren’t landfill free to consider making the switch.
We admit that changing your entire mindset about waste does seem like a rather daunting challenge. It is so much easier to send your waste off to a landfill and not have to think about it anymore. How can you get rid of all your waste otherwise? How much will it cost? These are valid concerns and we are here to say—relax! It is much easier than you think to go landfill free. Here’s how!
“Well of course I know to recycle,” you theoretically just shouted out loud from your office chair. But, after you’ve brushed off the confused glances of your coworkers (inside voice, friend), hear me out. Yes, the concept of recycling is so basic that we teach it to our kindergarteners. That doesn’t mean it’s not important. Far from it! Recycling is the base level from which you can work up from. In addition, did you know about the concept of Sham Recycling? It’s a real thing, it incurs a penalty fine, and the EPA has guidelines about it online. If you are serious about being landfill free, don’t neglect your basic recycling protocol!
Waste to Energy
“Okay,” you say smugly after having just read through the EPA guidelines linked above, “the concept of Sham Recycling proves that not everything can be recycled. Some of it needs to go to a landfill because there is no other way to handle it!” Calm down there, Litter-McGee. First of all, for being a hypothetical reader I made up to use in this article, you’re rather unreasonably aggressive in your protests. Secondly, let me introduce you to the concept of waste-to-energy. It’s a rather simple idea: first you recycle what you can. Everything else goes to a special facility where it is combusted and turned into electrical energy that can power our lives! This method can help reduce landfills volume by up to 90 %, and one ton of waste can power a house for a month! That doesn’t sound like a lot, until you consider the massive volume of what we throw away every year. If everyone practiced waste-to-energy, we could both reduce our landfill space and help lower our energy bills.
“That’s a good point,” you say, visibly calmer now. “But is that really all there is to it?” Hey, I’m glad you asked! One final great tip for going landfill free is to reuse what you can. For example, super sacks are biodegradable, environmentally friendly and can handle heavy loads. They’re perfect for transporting or carrying your materials around the plant. While they are only guaranteed for one-time, some super sacks are durable enough for multiple uses under the right conditions. Finding out what you can reuse will also help save you on shipping and transport costs when you are theoretically sending your waste off to be recycled or converted to energy.
You Can Be Landfill Free With KenBay
Like I said before, KenBay is committed to partnering with and encouraging zero waste companies. One great way we do that is through our RotoPacs. They are small and leave a small footprint at the source of the waste, meaning you just dump it and go — right there! Our compactors then continually press the waste down into small handy cubes about 7 or 8 times before it’s ready to haul. Why cubes, you may ask? Because it’s the shape that will help save you money on your shipping and hauling costs. Cubes are stackable, and easy to transport. You’re hauling your waste instead of wasting money hauling air! If you are interested in one of KenBay’s rotopacs, you can try it before you buy it. If you like the RotoPac, you can pay to keep the one we send!
The romantic side of me likes to imagine dust as a signifier of age and wisdom. I picture an old dusty library, books brimming with secrets waiting to be imparted. In reality, dust is a big problem for a lot of people. In your home, dust is unsightly. Far from your house appearing mysterious and interesting, you come across more that you don’t know how to take care of yourself. Think about it: have you ever been inside of a dusty room and found it pleasant? The problem is even worse for the manufacturing industry, where dust should not be tolerated whatsoever. KenBay knows that dealing with excess of any kind requires the right tools and the right mindset. You may think you need a dust collector in order to handle this problem — but think again!
Why Dust is a Problem
Dust may not be called “The Silent Killer” — that distinction goes to mold, high blood pressure, and carbon monoxide— but it can still do a lot of damage. On the one hand, there’s the basic issue of cleanliness. After all, nobody wants to work in a dirty environment, and you need to keep your employees happy. But there are deeper concerns at play here. The World Health Organization actually has listed airborne dust as a major workplace hazard because it can lead to disease, disability and even death. “But it’s just dust!” you may say. “I see it all the time! It can’t be that bad.” On the contrary: under the right circumstances, dust inhalation can lead to infertility or even cancer. How can this be?
Dust is composed of micro particles that come off the everyday materials around you. Anything small enough to be broken down into tiny bits and light enough to be tossed about in the air. If you live in a regular household environment, dust is little more than an annoyance. However, in the manufacturing industry, you are surrounded by toxic materials which then contaminate the dust and, subsequently, your lungs. At low exposure, you’re probably safe. The more dust you are exposed to, however, the greater risk you have of serious health complications. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety has a comprehensive list of the effects dust has on the body, as well as diseases that dust exposure can lead to. When it comes to your employees, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Skip the Dust Collector, Find a Better Answer
So what can you do to keep your work environment safe and your employees happy? One easy solution is to acquire a dust collector. We, however, are not quite satisfied with that idea. For one thing, a dust collector is only used after the dust has had time to settle in. For another, you (or one of your employees) will need to spend quite a bit of time cleaning with one to make sure everything is dust free. We believe there is a better way — a KenBay Rotopac! Our RotoPacs are hooded, so the dust never goes into the air in the first place. And they are small enough to be placed at the source of the waste, so everything is more efficient. You get a cleaner environment, no contamination, and safer conditions for your employees. If you are interested in trying out one of KenBay’s RotoPacs for yourself, then you can try it before you buy it through our website!
One of KenBay’s mission statements is to operate with zero waste and encourage others to follow suit. Zero Waste means that our company is committed to reusing and recycling our resources and will not send any waste into a landfill. We partner with other organizations who share the same philosophy — and there are many of us out there! We also work to educate others on the responsibilities of being an environmentally conscious company through efforts like this blog! So if you’ve ever wondered about how or why you need to consider the environment more in your processes, keep reading.
Zero Waste: The Positives
First, I want you to understand exactly what you have to gain by switching to environmentally conscious practices. Altering your wasteful processes reduces costs, attracts new environmentally conscious customers, and improves your organization’s sustainability. This article from the Queensland government website in Australia does a great job breaking down how these benefits come about. Also, if you think about it, you are unlikely to lose any customers specifically because of your environmentally conscious practices. So, with the opportunity to help the Earth and lots of great benefits for you, is there really a reason not to go green?
How to Get Started?
If you agree that sustainable practices are the right way to go, you may be confused about where to begin. Like other new practices, the internet is both your greatest tool and biggest frustration. In this digital age, you can find whatever information you need right in your own living room. An entire wealth of information is more easily accessible now than at any other time in human history. Fantastic! On the other hand, the internet is overly saturated with information everywhere you turn. Which is the correct way to go green? What are the most effective methods? How do you even get started? Ultimately, you need to thing of your company first and choose what is best for its needs. However, we can tell you that a great resource to turn to would be a company who is committed to an environmentally conscious philosophy. A company that has extensive experience putting that philosophy into practice.
Hey, wait a minute!
Tips from KenBay
Imagine that you are playing a board game and you begin with five points. You must keep all five points in order to be a fully environmentally conscious company. Obviously, points are subtracted for dumping waste in a landfall or a pond, but there are other more subtle ways to lose them as well. If you are trusting (without verifying) another company will sort your waste for recycling, you lose a point. If you aren’t recycling items because there is is product inside the plastic, you lose a point. If you steer away from super sacks because you don’t know how to deal with the empty sacks, you lose a point. You get the picture.
You keep points by keeping track of your product and all the items which make it up, from the minute they enter your factory to the moment they are recycled. One great way to help be environmentally conscious is to use compactors with KenBay. KenBay provides portable compactors that leave a small footprint at the site of your waste. You can compact your waste into small, easy to transport cubes to send off to the recycling center. If you want to experience the KenBay difference, you can try one of our compactors before you buy it. If you like the compactor we send you, you can just pay for it and keep it for good! You can be an environmentally conscious — and KenBay can help!
Is there anything sexier than watching something be squished into a nice geometrical cube? Look at this video and tell me I’m wrong. Alright, maybe “sexy” is not quite the right term for it, but compaction is still incredibly cool. Besides being the adult equivalent of smashing up your Play-Doh creations, compacting your waste is also a great way to be responsible about your environmental impact.
There are a lot of benefits to compacting waste, stuff you probably haven’t ever thought about. Maybe you’re already compacting and never thought about it before. Maybe you’re not compacting and wondering why you should bother. What does it matter to you how the waste looks? It all ends up in the same place anyway, right? Sorry, but that’s simply not true. Compaction offers a lot of great benefits to your plant, and you should be doing it. Want to know why? Then check these tips from KenBay!
Compaction Reduces Hauling Costs
Think of your big pile of waste like it’s on last call at a bar: “You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.” Your waste has to go somewhere, and if you’re an environmentally conscious organization you know better than to dump it in a natural resource. So, at some point you’re going to have to haul it on out of there. The trouble is getting all your waste to fit. Because here’s the thing: if you’re just dumping it all onto the truck as is, you know what you’re doing? You’re wasting space. That junk doesn’t just fit together like a nice little puzzle piece! And you know what you’re still paying for? All that air that gets hauled to the dump along with your waste. Which means you can add one more thing you’re wasting: money!
Compacting your junk makes it so that you are turning it into a puzzle piece. One where each piece is shaped like nice little easily-stackable cube. This video shows just how much trash can be hauled when it’s all compacted together. Get more junk on the truck, and pay for less air. It’s that easy!
Compaction Improves Safety
If you’re working in a plant, then you know how dangerous scrap metal can be. It’s sharp and it needs to be handled carefully and consciously. You know what isn’t careful or conscious? Throwing it all onto a big truck. You run risks of slicing open your hand both loading and unloading that metal. Compacting it into a cube shape is safer because you’re helping to reduce those sharp edges. Also, the cubes can be easily stacked onto a fork lift, so you’ll have less time handling it at all! (Sorry.)
Compaction Reduces Labor
Hey, here’s another great way to save money: quit paying for hours and hours of labor to load, transport, and unload the truck. Small, compacted cubes are far easier (and require less manpower) to load and unload, meaning you don’t spend nearly as much money on outside junk haulers. Those savings build up over time!
We hope you agree that compacting your junk is definitely the way to go. And you know what else? KenBay has the machines needed to get the job done. Our RotoPacs are compact and can be used right at the source of the junk, and they leave a small footprint. You can try one out for yourself if you don’t believe us! Then, maybe you’ll agree that compacting can be sexy after all.