At LJP Waste Solutions, as waste disposal and environmental sustainability experts, we know all too well that every company adopts sustainable business practices in a unique way. We’ve spent over a decade helping businesses of all sorts adopt waste solutions that align more with their personal sustainability goals.

We’re all for adopting environmentally friendly practices at one’s own pace and at one’s own time. However, there’s one thing we know that all sustainability plans have in common: a smart provider of commercial waste services that aligns with that company’s sustainability goals.

It’s non-negotiable; any company, big or small, chain or stand-alone, won’t get far when it comes to eco-conscious actions if they don’t have an ally to help them along the way. Sustainability, in any form, cannot happen without conscientious waste management practices.

We further define our stance below!

Sustainability and Smart Trash Disposal: Inseparable Entities

The concept of sustainability surrounds being gentle to the Earth and leaving as small of an impact as possible on the local environment and the planet as a whole. Trash left to pile up in landfills in no way fits in with this concept; you must dispose of your trash conscientiously and in an environmentally friendly manner to work toward more fully sustainable practices.

Landfills in and of themselves are immensely harmful to the environment and our communities. They do far more harm than good.

Landfills take up miles of land that could be used for more practical purposes

Have you ever driven past a landfill? If not, perhaps it’s time you do, just so you can grasp how vast a single one is. Across the United States, countless of these facilities blight our pristine landscape. Without their existence, the land would be free to return to its natural state, providing space for trees that help stop our planet from warming.

Anything from low-income housing communities to dog parks could also be built in their place. Part of sustainability for many businesses is making local communities better from a social standpoint as well as an environmental one; landfills don’t align with either of these sustainability goals.

Landfills throw a wrench in the natural ecosystem

Animals and trash don’t mix; we’ve all seen those pictures of marine creatures tangled in plastic bags or birds choked by a string. Though landfills keep trash relatively contained, they cannot be expected to function perfectly in this respect. Moreover, birds can begin to use these landfills for food sources, which can lead to both poor nutrition and overgrowth of the prey those birds used to eat.

No matter how well a landfill is managed, it can negatively impact the surrounding animals—how does that align with the concept of sustainability?

Landfills emit harmful greenhouse gasses

Indeed, landfills contribute to a significant amount of the United States’ greenhouse gas emissions. Though these gasses could be harnessed and used for energy, they frequently dissipate into the atmosphere and prevent the planet from cooling itself.

How does warming the planet via careless trash disposal contribute to a business’s sustainability mission?

Here’s What Waste Solutions and Sustainability Looks Like Together

As you can see, lazy trash disposal—namely, via putting trash in landfills—does not contribute to your business’s sustainability mission in any sense of the word.

But if you have trash that can’t be recycled, what do you do with it?

Waste Reduction

When you consider smart waste solutions and sustainability practices reducing waste is at the top of the list. This could mean homeowners implementing the “reduce reuse and recycle” motto and choosing to mulch their landscaping instead of tossing them into a garbage bin. Or investing in reusable and sustainable products that don’t need to be replaced on a regular basis.

Commercially speaking, the waste reduction could be going paperless, reducing the amount of packaging used for shipments, or choosing to invest in companies that promote sustainability as part of their brand.

Implementing solutions like greater communication around personalized waste goals and implementing solutions can help increase the overall efficiency of sustainability practices.

Recycling as a Streamlined Process

Finding more integrated and easier waste practices is crucial to enhancing sustainability at home. And with 30% of items that are not recyclable placed in the bins, this clearly shows there needs to be a more streamlined process.

One of the critical factors to make the process easier is to have enough bins in your collection area. Get creative and utilize baskets or other items that simplify the process, or choose containers with wheels or handles so they can be picked up and moved easily.

Also, incorporating a routine can also help with consistency, reducing the chances of the items piling up and creating a large mess you may want to avoid dealing with.

Energy Recovery

Energy is produced in a myriad of ways, including using organic matter that's processed and recycled to generate transportation, electricity, and heat. Composting and bio-reprocessing or recycling methods that use digestion processes of waste materials like paper products, food scraps, and plant material help break them down for repurposing.

Implementing ways to utilize organic matter and solid waste can result in processing techniques that return the matter to the earth instead of placing it inside a landfill.

From plant composition to food waste, they can help improve the health of the soil, support beneficial bacteria, and offer a smart waste solution that makes sustainability the primary goal.

Waste-to-Energy Companies and You: The Best Way to Achieve Higher Degree of Sustainability

This process, in short, turns non-recyclable trash to energy. Visit our waste processing page to learn more about it. The process, as you can see from our webpage, is not straightforward; you need an expert to help you adopt this process and do a full waste audit, determining how your business can minimize its environmental impact and do the planet a favor.

That’s where we at LJP Waste Solutions come in. As a Mankato provider of sustainable waste solutions, we’ve helped businesses of all sorts, from food-packaging companies to manufacturing plants, fully embrace what it means to be sustainable. After we get a good feel for how your business operates, we create a detailed plan-of-action to manage your waste in a more sustainable fashion, helping you work toward zero landfill initiatives.

Our clients feel good seeing the detailed reports of where their waste is going, and they feel even better once they realize the larger implications of their actions.

Our versatility and ability to assess waste disposal methods on a case-by-case basis makes us the pinnacle of a smart waste management company, one that helps your business keep its trash out of landfills and become the more philanthropic company you always knew it could be.

LJP Waste Solutions Would be Glad To Become Your Ally

You’ve seen that throwing trash in landfills does the environment no good, and you’ve seen how complicated—yet beneficial—the alternative is. So what are you waiting for?

Take responsibility for your business’s impact on the environment and give LJP Waste Solutions a call today. Reach our North Mankato office at 507-625-1968.