Why & how to review waste management practices

A review is essential to gather information on the wastes produced by your institution, management practices used and indicative costs. Without a review it would be very difficult to improve current operations, reduce costs and ensure that there is strict legal compliance. The review also provides equally important information to assist in changing waste management from focussing mainly on disposal, to an emphasis on waste minimisation, reuse and recycling.

It is possible to undertake a review in a number of ways, which may be dependent on the administrative and physical structure of your institution. There are various possible options which have advantages and disadvantages. These options should be considered in relation to both the preliminary and detailed reviews.

Options for structuring review of waste


Department or faculty based (i.e. identify waste production rates and costs for each department, faculty or school etc.)	It may fit in with existing budget structure and be easier to identify costs	Certain departments may not want to provide information
		Some buildings or waste generation areas may be shared by several departments
		May be difficult to identify waste producers and therefore apportion costs
Building or Campus based (i.e. select discrete buildings or areas on Campus)	Easy to identify waste in a discrete area	Buildings may be shared by a number of departments each with their own cost centres
	May coincide with existing storage and collection practices	May be difficult to identify waste producers and therefore apportion costs
Waste stream (i.e. household, special/hazardous or clinical etc.)	Some wastes are always segregated – e.g. special/hazardous or clinical	Special/hazardous and clinical waste is normally only a small proportion of the overall waste stream
	Fits naturally with legal classifications and often with contracting arrangements.	May be difficult to establish a clear picture of the overall waste generation for a particular cost centre.

In this section…

Why & how to review waste management practices

Options for structuring review of waste

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