The foundation for sustainable waste management is ‘separation at source’. Separating different waste types so that they can be individually managed better, whether it be recycled, repurposed or processed into a ‘secondary resource’.
Every commercial site differs in terms of the different types and volumes of waste that is generated, however there are common components that allow for separating waste on-site for it to be more sustainably managed.
BiobiN provides some insight into some of these components:
Materials recovery facility (MRF). Usually, a central point of a factory, office park or any commercial facility, the MRF is the point where most waste items and materials arrive to be sorted and separated into different material types. From the MRF, materials are either recycled, repurposed, or collected for landfilling.
Effluent treatment plant. Liquid waste or effluent is usually produced in significant amounts, depending on the nature of the facility. It is a waste stream that is heavy regulated by municipalities and requires various treatment stages to discharge treated effluent into municipal drains or if it were to be used for irrigation.
Hazardous waste containment /storage. Another heavily regulated waste type is hazardous waste. This type of waste material or liquid require stringent containment, storage and collection by a registered waste management service provider.
Waste material repurposing. Some waste material can be repurposed into another product. The most common example is turning ash that comes from industrial burners and boilers, into bricks. Many industries are taking this concept and through innovative design and development, are repurposing waste streams into viable products. This closes the loop on waste, saves raw material and resources and ultimately money.
Organic waste processing vessel. There has been a massive emphasis placed on organic waste over the past three years, and this has reflected in the organic waste landfilling regulations. Food and organic waste can very efficient be managed on-site in composting units, like BiobiN. Units are design based on a site’s specifications and amount of organic waste that is produce. The end product, high-grade compost, can be either used on-site, donated or sold. For this reason, many large-scale commercial facilities are opting to use on-site composting to manage their organic waste.
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