Human Resources and Waste: Educating your staff for a system that works

Waste Management is not my problem. It doesn’t affect me, how efficiently I work, my job stability or salary. Any employee thinking this, couldn’t be further from the truth. A tailored waste management solution that Mpact supplies to its clients, works optimally when staff understand their involvement and the implications thereof on the day-to-day operations of the business.

Mpact is your partner in a well-functioning Waste Management System from start to finish. We work on-site and understand the finer details like where bottlenecking occurs, identify potential waste streams in your business and look for rebate opportunities for your business and less wastage through offcuts. With this information, we’re well equipped to educate staff on how they can contribute towards a functioning waste management system and what it could mean for the business in the long run.

Your Waste Management System could become redundant

Once we’ve worked with our clients and identified a tailored waste management system for their business, we go about putting action plans in place. We work on-site or advise how the system can be implemented on the ground within a clientele base that stretches across industries from food manufacturing to medical. We also have a network of suppliers that provide offtake for a wide range of materials, including hazardous waste, as well as innovative solutions for end-use.

This sophisticated and considered system doesn’t just need one person or one team to take responsibility, it needs the whole company to understand how they can support the system, regardless of their role in the company. If staff are not educated and made a part of the journey, your Waste Management System could function at a much slower rate than it should. You could partner with Mpact for the best solutions, but yours could become redundant if you don’t involve all the relevant parties and ensure a common understanding of how this works.  

 “Waste” is not loss

For most people, “waste” is any item that gets thrown away and ends up in landfill. It’s often considered worthless or not worth thinking about. For some, waste may not even be “their problem.” The level of education required could be as basic as understanding that recyclables need to be separated from waste and not thrown into the general waste bin. Besides ensuring the company meets ESG goals and keeps communities clean, employees may be surprised to discover that some waste could have value.

It’s important for employees to understand that this value could result in rebates to the company or even reduce the amount of offcut material that could be written off as a loss. This is a delicate balance because the rebates are not necessarily an injection into profits but could offset the service costs of waste management as well as create a more productive company or streamline day-to-day operations. It comes down to the understanding that together, if each person is pulling in the same direction, they could make a difference to an often-overlooked part of running a business.

No one reads a bulletin

In the age of doomscrolling and bite-sized pieces of information, it’s becoming increasingly rare for people to read long emails, bulletins or even posters. If they do take the time to read this type of company educational communication, it’s unlikely they’ll remember or fully comprehend what this means and how they can play their part.

That’s why we encourage workshops for your staff so they can have a tangible understanding of the waste management system applicable to their company or industry as well as how this affects their job. An office worker could play a valuable role in ensuring paper is placed in a recycling bin while a person within the manufacturing chain at a factory that makes food items, would benefit from understanding that offcuts need to be properly prepared for collection on-site so that it could be utilised and turned into feedstock for livestock.

People absorb information better through demonstrations, activations and when someone explains in person using lived experiences and relatable examples.

Your partner in waste management education

Mpact Waste Management has a team of qualified people who are more than happy to work with you to create educational and awareness activations as well as training workshops suited to your business’s level of Waste Management. Each business and industry has its own unique challenges as well as solutions, and when you partner with us for your tailored plan, we have the insight you need to ensure your staff is educated according to your requirements.  

We’ll ensure waste management is seen as positive, reassuring and easy-to-understand as well as making it clear what role it plays in companies, industries and organisations, and the success thereof. In today’s economic climate, employees are looking to understand just how important their contribution can be to a company’s or industry’s success, even if that’s as simple as separating recyclable material from waste.