WASTE NOT, WANT NOT

MINIMIZING WASTE IN MANUFACTURING

- DAMIEN MARTIN

Manufacturing produces all the valuable goods we need on a daily basis. It also produces a lot of waste, including toxic and hazardous materials. There's waste of raw materials, waste made in production, packaging waste, and waste from unused inventory or excess production. Tangible things aren't the only waste. Inefficient or poorly planned processes waste time and effort, hindering productivity. It all adds to lost revenue and environmental damage. Nobody wants it.

They want to be more like Subaru, whose Indiana plant last sent waste to a local landfill 20 years ago. So, how do manufacturers minimize waste? Here are some changes that make a major difference.

SET GOALS

To implement meaningful and effective waste reduction strategies, manufacturers need to have a plan. The plan needs to have quantifiable goals, with deadlines for key targets. Without those, you're just sort of hoping things improve without taking the steps necessary to make sure they do. Patagonia, long a standard bearer for sustainability, continually pushes itself to get better. The clothing manufacturer vows to eliminate virgin petroleum material from its products and have its packaging be reusable, home compostable, renewable, or easily recyclable by 2025. A vague goal to reduce waste isn't worth much. How much are you going to reduce waste by? What areas will you focus on?

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