The purpose of a detailed and well-designed waste management plan is to ensure the proper collection, transportation and disposal of all types of waste, from municipal to industrial, hazardous or non-hazardous.
This blog outlines why you need a plan for your waste hauling business, what you need to include in it, and how to implement the plan. We also provide a context for planning, by assessing what the future of waste management looks like.
why you need a waste management plan
Taking time to get the plan right will prove to be an invaluable exercise for your business. The process will encourage you to assess where your waste hauling business is now, and where you want to take it in the future – what your goals are. From here you are then better informed to identify what specific steps you need to take to reach your goals.
Clearly setting out your goals creates a framework against which you can measure progress and track the effectiveness of your fleet tacking. and a way to track your fleet and measure your progress towards meeting those goals. This will then lead on to identifying areas of operational improvement to optimize fleet productivity.
You can expect a range of benefits to flow from the creation of the plan:
- greater operational efficiency and productivity
As you look at areas within your business that require immediate attention you may start to discover the end-to-end benefits of using a transport management system (TMS). A well-chosen TMS offers advanced features for ticketing, dispatching, and tracking all of your loads. - reduced company stress and greater employee engagement
By avoiding issues with vehicle repairs, unhappy customers and other problems that lead to corporate burnout and poor brand image, you'll be able to reduce overall company stress and keep your employees happy. - scale your business more effectively
Part of the increased operational efficiency also includes keeping your dispatcher-to-driver ratio low. In doing so, you’ll be able to continue growing your business without the additional overhead costs. - enhance safety
A waste management plan can help you keep your drivers safe and happy, customize your payroll contracts, and outsource your surplus workloads to prevent everyone from feeling overwhelmed.
key inclusions for an effective waste management plan
budget
The budget for your waste management plan should include three key areas of financial activity:
- outlays – such as the cost of buying and maintaining each individual truck in your fleet over its lifespan
- overhead costs – such as driver and dispatcher training, software
- operating costs – such as fuel, salaries, and vehicle maintenance.
Start with your best estimates of types and percentages of waste you’ll be moving, how far you’ll be moving the loads, and all of your fixed and variable expenses.
plan for the future
You also need to make allowances for costs yet to come that will be associated with your aspirations and expectations for business growth. These are likely to include areas of expense such as expanding your fleet, hiring more dispatchers, upgrading your software, or building more transfer stations along your routes.
If you’re looking for ways to reduce the costs of running your business, watch out for hidden costs, particularly when working with your technology provider. Some providers like to charge for things like “cell service” which can add up quickly. Also be sure that you're using the most fuel-efficient parts for your trucks, that you conduct regular maintenance schedules, and that you train your drivers in safe, fuel-efficient behaviors.
source separation
Source separation is critically important, but often overlooked as a cost saving factor. If waste materials are not sorted properly, you may end up sending materials to recycling plants that are actually unable to be recycled and need to be transported back to the landfill.
Finally, use software to optimize your routes and encourage communication between drivers and dispatchers.
five-step planning process
Within your waste management plan should include details about who is responsible for what. You should also identify the types and amounts of waste you transport, the methods and modes of transportation you use, and transportation routes. In terms of guidelines for within your operation you should also itemize safety training (what, who for, and on what topics), and standard operating procedures.
- assign responsibility to all relevant persons or parties
Make sure everyone – from drivers and dispatchers through to back-office staff and executives – clearly understands their role. Nominate one person as the go-to for any management-related questions. - establish clear objectives for hauling efficiency and cost savings
Know which important transportation metrics you’ll be tracking, how you’ll be reviewing progress, and the criteria you’ll use to evaluate strengths and weaknesses of your operation. - identify and map all waste hauling routes
Cover the locations of all waste storage, removal, disposal or transfer stations, as well as dumpsters, landfills, junkyards and recycling plants. - keep a record of all equipment currently in operation
Itemize vehicles in your fleet and carefully track and monitor maintenance schedules for all of them. - establish protocols or standard operating procedures (SOPs)
There should be SOPs for normal operations, and for special issues that may arise during collection, transfer or disposal of waste. Ensure you meet local ordinances. Every stage of your hauling operation should align with relevant governmental regulations and waste management best practices. There are a few additional questions you need also to pay attention to:
- do any special storage or handling measures need to be considered during the transport process?
- what does the training process look like for your drivers, dispatchers and other members of your staff?
- how will you encourage participation in the training, track performance once training is complete, reward good performance, and handle poor performance?
- how will you communicate important information to everyone within the organization?
transportation methods & equipment used
The infrastructure and equipment required to collect, transfer and dispose of waste is a big investment for any size of waste hauling operation. There are many types of trucks, tanks, trailers and other solid waste transportation methods used to move solid waste:
- dump trucks
- landfill tippers
- storage/treatment tanks
- steer loaders, excavators and other heavy equipment
- walking floor trailers
- bulk pneumatic tankers
transportation best practices
To optimize your transportation routes, there are a few things you can do right away. First, avoid having your waste hauling routes overlap and try to keep your collection and transport times the same for each route. During collection, prioritize the largest waste-producing sources over the smaller sources to ensure you’re hauling full loads first.
Give all vehicles and solid waste equipment regular cleaning schedules. Finally, use software to help optimize your routes by tracking loads in real-time with GPS, eliminating paper tickets, automating the ticketing process, and giving your dispatchers status updates on your drivers.
types of waste
From municipal waste to industrial waste, construction debris and biomedical waste, different types of waste must be disposed of properly. Municipal and industrial wastes are two of the largest waste categories and the types that waste haulers most commonly deal with.
Industrial waste is the waste generated from the production of consumer goods, agriculture and mining. Municipal waste, meanwhile, comes from residential and recreational sources and could include waste such as everyday food, paper and plastic, hazardous household chemicals, electronics, and waste from landscaping.
Hazardous industrial or biomedical waste requires safe disposal in a location sufficiently far away for disposal to occur in an environmentally responsible way. Industrial and construction waste should be stored, transported and disposed of separately from other types of waste.
the future of waste management
The United States accounts for over 292 million tons of waste per year – or 12% of the global municipal waste output. As an industry, waste management continues to grow, with industry-wide annual revenue already exceeding $63 billion dollars. As corporations in every industry around the world are increasingly pressured to adopt more eco-friendly business practices, waste haulers are no exception.
Making sustainable improvements to your waste management business and establishing partnerships with local governments can help you cut costs while also improving the lives of people in both urban and rural environments.
Loads per truck per day directly impacts your revenue and determines whether or not you’re maximizing your profits as effectively as possible. Deadhead miles – the distance between one unloading point and your next loading point – translate into wasted money because these are miles driven with no product. It’s estimated that deadhead miles make up over 35% of all miles driven.
In terms of fuel efficiency; data from the US Department of Energy revealed that a typical waste collection truck travels between 20,000 and 30,000 miles every year, consuming over 10,000 gallons of diesel along the way. If you’re not into math, that’s the fuel consumption of approximately 3 miles per gallon. Between minimizing deadhead miles and maximizing the fuel efficiency of your fleet, there are plenty of cost savings to be found in your waste hauling business.
So what can you do to make your business more sustainable?
why AMCS and where to find us
AMCS’s Bulk Hauling is an industry-leading transportation management system (TMS) helping short-haul bulk commodity trucking companies streamline their entire waste collection and transport process. Our core software modules create a more dynamic user experience with greater insights and real-time data:
- Ticketing: Eliminating the inefficiencies that came with all those old, written records. Our automated ticketing functionality provides all of your ticket data digitally for greater accuracy and convenience.
- Dispatch: Send regular fleet progress updates to your dispatchers so they can make better routing decisions for your waste transporters.
- GeoTrack: With real-time load tracking via GPS, you can rest easy knowing that your drivers and your equipment get where they need to go.
AMCS Bulk Hauling has been helping some of the nation’s largest waste haulers navigate to better insights, and greater efficiency. For more information, and to get help navigating your own way through the world of fleet logistics, just get in touch.