The Business Benefits of Using a Waste Management Consultant in South Carolina

Do you own a business or commercial property in South Carolina? Have you investigated the internal resources available to help you save money on your waste management system but still struggle to reduce costs? Have you ever noticed that your trash and recycling costs are constantly on the rise?

Many South Carolina businesses are using waste audit and consultancy services to reach the goals laid out by the new state and county guidelines for recycling. Richland, Charleston, and other counties are raising the bar for local businesses when it comes to recycling, as part of a nationwide movement to lower waste management costs and landfill overuse.

County Governments in South Carolina Have New Requirements for Businesses

Charleston, Columbia, Myrtle Beach, and Greenville residents and businesses are facing higher fees for trash disposal at county landfills, and in Richland County the fees applied to property taxes have been raised beginning in 2020. The Solid Waste and Recycling Division of Richland County also negotiated residential garbage hauling costs with waste management brokers for the same period.1

Charleston County’s recycling services focus heavily on business recycling, because commercial businesses generate 60% of the solid waste in the area. Much of this was found to be recyclable material, leading the Charleston County’s Business Recycling Program to suggest that businesses reduce their garbage fees by recycling industrial, manufacturing, retail, and food service waste.

Statewide the South Carolina Smart Business Recycling Program outlines goals for local industries to meet the new guidelines. Food composting services are now available in many South Carolina communities to further reduce the amount of garbage that goes to local landfills. County guidelines suggest that if businesses can reduce their waste by two cubic yards per week, they could save $344 each year in county landfill user fees.2

Waste Audits Identify Ways Your Business Can Save Money

As part of these guidelines, South Carolina suggests a waste audit as an essential step to reducing the volume of waste produced and therefore the fees your company must pay for hauling and disposal.3 Many companies are engaging with waste audit and consultancy services like Global Trash Solutions (GTS) to complete these steps and analyze their waste stream.

Waste audits use site visits and consulting tools to find ways to reduce waste, reuse materials, and recycle effectively. The audit provides a baseline for improvement, allowing businesses to track their reductions in trash volume and increases in recycling revenue moving forward, and plan the implementation of further improvements as guidelines become more stringent over time.

Waste Management Solutions for the Diverse Industries of South Carolina

South Carolina is a particularly diverse marketplace for waste and recycling service, with coastal towns like Charleston and Myrtle Beach being highly seasonal, places like Columbia where the economy relies partially on university students and the thriving downtown atmosphere, and areas like Spartanburg and Greenville, which are largely dependent on locals and travelers for economic stability. One common thread is that businesses in all these cities and towns have benefited from waste consulting services.

While many of the haulers in South Carolina offer the familiar warmth and southern hospitality that make SC such a great place, they can only work within the confines of the fees outlined by the State of South Carolina when it comes to solid waste hauling. However, there are buyers and other outlets for sorted and baled recyclable materials which can turn diverted materials from your waste stream from a liability into a source of revenue.

Lowering Commercial Recycling Costs in South Carolina

As a result of these reasons and others, many South Carolina businesses are turning to Global Trash Solutions (GTS) for help in lowering their waste expenses by means of leveraging GTS’ relationships within the industry. In South Carolina, GTS clients benefit from becoming a network of over 2,600 businesses and counting, at least 80 of which are in SC.

We know most of the local vendors as well as WM and Republic, and they are always happy to hear from us because we give them opportunities they might otherwise miss out on. We also take a top-down approach when it comes to customer service, so you can be sure your trash vendors are always held accountable for service issues .

If you would like to enjoy the benefits of our services without any initial investment and a 10% minimum savings guarantee (average is 40% savings in SC within 60 days of enrollment), please call us today at (866) 760-8194.

Sources:

1. http://www.richlandcountysc.gov/Home/News/ArtMID/479/ArticleID/1861/County-Tax-Bills-to-Reflect-Increase-in-Trash-Collection-Fees
2. https://www.charlestoncounty.org/departments/environmental-management/business-recycling.php
3. https://www.scdhec.gov/sites/default/files/Library/OR-1480.pdf