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Retail Hardware Best Practices for Waste Management

For retail business owners, managing waste hurts the bottom line in more ways than paying for garbage collection or recycling services.

Retail Hardware Best Practices for Waste Management (July 1998) demonstrates that reducing waste management and waste disposal costs, improving operating efficiency, and reducing materials cost can save a significant amount of money.

In addition, hardware stores that have a commitment to waste reduction can gain significant goodwill and customer loyalty by serving as a community waste management model. Selling resource conservation products is also a strong base for potential profit.

This manual is a management tool, documenting costs and benefits of "best management practices" for waste reduction and pollution prevention in the operation of a retail hardware store. Based on pilot projects at four Minnesota Ace Hardware stores, over 40 waste management practices were monitored and documented at the pilot stores for cost and waste savings (in weight and volume).

• Project Background
• Introduction
• Reduce: Prevent Waste at its Source
  • Reduce solid waste
  • Conserve energy and water
  • Use less-toxic alternatives
• Reuse the Same Product or Resource
  • Materials exchange
  • Reuse useful products
  • Repair
  • Buy durable, repairable products
• Recycle: Conserve Resources and Minimize Solid Waste
  • Recycle and save
  • Special wastes
• Profiles of Participating Hardware Stores
• Waste Assessment Checklist
• Establish a Source Reduction Program
• Waste Reduction Resources and Referrals
• Recycled-Content Products Available to Hardware Stores
• Survey Results from National and Midwestern Hardware Dealers

Acknowledgements

This manual was developed by The WATER Foundation (Brainerd) with assistance from the Environmental Assistance Grants program. Learn more by checking out the online database of past awards.