Los 5 errores más comunes que comete una empresa para el manejo integral de sus residuos. Cada vez es mas frecuente escuchar los problemas en su venta de chatarra en Guatemala
After 20 years offering recycling services in Guatemala we have seen how easy it is for a company to fall into common mistakes that decrease its profitability, increase the time involved by its staff, put the industrial safety of your company at risk and of course damage the environment. We want to share with you this practical guide that we hope can help your company:
The most important mistake lies in the companies' ignorance of the materials they have in their yard of scrap, scrap metal, garbage dump, etc. Each company calls in a different way to the space they designate for the collection of waste and that the recycler or they themselves withdraw and this may also be one of the reasons why they do not know what materials, how much of each one they dispose of and how often . We have to be honest with the amount of energy and approach that companies give to waste, companies do not live off the sale of waste (it is not their Core Business) Therefore it is understandable that there are certain oversights in their handling. Understanding what we dispose of and making the correct separation of waste can save us time and money as well as taking care of the environment.
Here are two examples that can better show some of the errors:
A waste can have positive recycling value, that is, the company can earn by selling the material to be recycled or negative when the company must pay the recycler for the handling of the material. The vast majority of industrial wastes have international prices which are associated with the metal that participates most in the waste or its main raw material. For example, the price of bronze will be guided by the price of Copper, nickel-free, lead acid batteries for the value of lead, etc. Companies can check online international prices in different pages such as Kitco, LME, among others, and in this way they can know if their waste is being valued in the right way. Negotiating based on international prices is a very safe, fair and 100% auditable way for companies; Thus, in this way you can make an informed decision and know why that value is paid for the waste. Another important aspect when negotiating with recyclers is the distance at which the material is located (Company Facilities to Recycling Facilities or final disposal site). Keep in mind that the cost of transportation goes hand in hand with the fuel. Another aspect to consider is the difficulty of loading, often due to the disorder in the waste yard, the load is much slower and it is even necessary for the recycler to carry heavy machinery for loading, this for obvious reasons decreases the value of waste materials.
Formal recycling companies should have a presentation that describes when they perform the service, how are their processes, what companies do they work with, etc. It is very easy for a professional recycler to share the name and position of the people who handle the waste of the material supplying companies so that at first hand they think about the service of the recycler, what are its strengths and areas of improvement. When there is a payment in between, there are several modalities that can be used: when the withdrawal of lots is periodic, many times an amount that supports the average of the collections can be paid into the company account and in this way it is created a checking account that feeds on credits and discounts for sales invoices. If the company will give credit to the recycler in any way, it is important that they request their bank information and business references.
There are recyclers who only seek to take "the meat" and leave the "bone", in colloquial terms. Many times a company can have a lot with high value materials mixed with others that have low value or even negative value, hence the importance that at the time of loading is present the staff of your company and see that from the beginning you are loading the low value material. Preferably, the last collection trip is to remove the most valuable material. It is important that the recycler describes how the work plan will be and that any change of plans is reported. Another recommendation in this regard is that the recycler must physically or electronically view all the materials to be removed in that lot because sometimes companies vary the list of materials to be previously negotiated, because they did not deregister the assets on time, or because The Head of Maintenance says that he will use some of the materials designated as waste or even because another area decided to add more materials to the list. In all these occasions the negotiation must be reviewed, higher costs of transport, personnel, etc. can originate. or on the contrary decrease them. In both scenarios it is important that both the company and the recycler are clear what they will take and what not, before the day of loading.
Source: Bruno García, General Manager of Scrapex.