Be sustainable with a waste management audit checklist

What Is a Waste Management Audit?

The role of waste management in the commercial sector is to collect, transport, dispose of, and, if necessary, treat municipal waste. In various industries, this system increases environmental awareness and promotes public health and safety.

A waste management checklist supports waste management offices and their team to comply with legal requirements. It also helps assess whether waste separation and disposal processes are being properly implemented and followed by the organization. In this way, a checklist helps avoid environmental problems and legal penalties.

In this article, the following is addressed:

1. 4 steps to optimal waste management

2. Waste management app & software

How to Manage Corporate Waste Disposal in 4 Easy Steps?

Waste management can be a time-consuming task. Not only do you have to make sure that you’re complying with the legal regulations, but you also have to be mindful of environmental protection laws, responsibility, and practicability when implementing any new waste-reduction measures. It is therefore important to create as thorough a plan as possible so each step is optimized to reduce waste. Follow the next 4 steps to audit your company’s waste disposal methods:

1. Inform Yourself
   Find out about your local and national regulations for waste management in companies. You should also carefully consider your options and be able to distinguish between different types of waste. Waste is commonly classified into the four categories seen below:
1. Commercial municipal waste
2. Infectious waste
3. Hazardous waste
4. Industrial waste


2. Review
   Check the existing plan (if available) and examine the individual disposal steps. The possible types of solid waste management disposal methods are:
1. Recycling
2. Composting
3. Combustion
4. Sanitary landfills



You should also evaluate your company’s office management practices by asking yourself the following questions: Are there ways to reduce the number of packaging materials used during shipping? What systems can we digitize to save paper? By doing a complete overhaul of the company, you can replace the outdated pen and paper method by utilizing new technology, saving you money and the environment from greenhouse gas emissions.



3. Implement
   The first step in implementing a solid waste management system in your company is to create a detailed plan. Asking questions like: “Who is responsible for waste disposal?” or using the 5 Whys Method can help identify critical roles and solve potential problems early on. There should be at least one person responsible for waste management in the company. The company’s disposal methods should also be thoroughly assessed for effectiveness. For example, are the garbage truck routes as short as possible? Is the disposal as climate-friendly as possible?
4. Control
   It is certainly not enough to implement just one solid waste management disposal method. It’s not uncommon for companies to adopt more than one method of disposal, depending on the quantity and the type of waste they produce. However, creating a waste management system isn’t a one-and-done deal. You should review the effectiveness of each method in monthly increments and again after any changes have been made. To help aid you with this, it’s particularly advisable to create a checklist in line with the legal and internal company regulations, for these requirements serve as a guideline for evaluating the effectiveness of the system.

How Can Lumiform Help You Manage Waste Disposal in Your Company?

With a digital application, you can distinguish how effectively your company manages its waste disposal. You can select a suitable checklist from our template library and edit it to meet your company’s waste management specifications. By using the mobile app, you can ensure that you don’t forget any important tasks and that those tasks are performed to the highest quality standard.

Lumiform makes it easier for you to comply with changing legal requirements and avoid the correspondingly hefty fines. You can conduct audits on our mobile app via a smartphone or tablet – online or offline. Lumiform even guides you through the steps, so no additional training is required. The easiest way to provide clean, transparent documentation is with a digital solution such as Lumiform.

Digitize checklists and internal processes with Lumiform:

• Lumiform’s flexible checklist builder helps you convert any individual paper list into a digital checklist in minutes.
• In addition, we offer over 12,000 ready-made templates to help companies get started digitally in no time.
• Using the super intuitive mobile app, you and your teammates can conduct checks in the field with ease.
• All results, images, and comments are automatically bundled in a digital report.