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For manufacturers, compliance with California Proposition 65 can be a frustrating and confusing process. The law requires businesses to clearly identify consumer products that contain chemicals “known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity.” Typically, this means affixing an appropriate warning label to the product in question.

Waste management is a constant, no matter what type of facility you work in. But not all trash cans are suitable for every application; a good industrial trash can will be very different than a desk-side waste-paper basket.

Waste haulers may ultimately handle recycling and landfill materials, but industrial facilities still need plenty of their own professional waste equipment to collect and store materials until the hauler can cart it away. Every industrial facility needs the following pieces of waste equipment:

Health care waste exposes hospital workers to greater risks than more typical waste-streams, and the staff who regularly handle, clean up, and dispose of these materials bear the brunt of the hazard. Contact with medical waste can lead to injury, exposure to toxic substances, and even infections of all kinds.

Since its inception, the modern global recycling industry has developed a worldwide infrastructure. In the U.S., recyclables are separated out at material recovery facilities (MRFs), packed into bales, and sent to other nations, which house the world’s processing capacity. More often than not, until recently, that meant China.

Too many sanitation workers end up injured — or worse — on the job. Refuse and recycling collectors have long been listed among the top five most dangerous occupations in the nation, but the problem extends along the entire waste stream.

Federal grants can be an important funding source for municipal recycling programs. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, “Every year, the EPA awards more than $4 billion in funding for grants … from small non-profit organizations to large state governments.”

Large-scale events generate significant volumes of waste, which is why organizers need a comprehensive Waste Management Plan (WMP) in place from the very start. The creation of this plan does not have to be a daunting process. In fact, putting some extra time into your WMP while organizing your event is a proactive step that can make the event easier to manage.

The 2018 wildfire season was California's most destructive on record. Over 8,500 fires burned across California's Golden Coast, damaging nearly 2 million acres of land and property. The California fires cost the nation nearly $5.3 billion in damages and fire suppression efforts.

Working in the industrial manufacturing business, it may seem difficult to imagine how composting and recycling could help your company and save you money. And while beginning the process may seem daunting, the payback is higher than you think.