5 Ways You're Overpaying for Dumpsters (and How to Stop!)
You’re overspending on your dumpsters.
How do we know? Because we’ve seen it over and over again with our clients.
Of the hundreds we’ve worked with over the past 18 years, we estimate that over 60% of our clients have benefited from equipment changes.
Prior to us coming on board, these companies were paying thousands of dollars for commercial waste equipment. But they weren’t being used efficiently! They didn’t know - but they do now.
They stopped overpaying, and you can too.
You may need:
fewer dumpsters
a compactor
more dumpsters (with fewer pickups)
larger containers
smaller containers
How will you know what your true needs are unless you get a waste audit?
Let’s take some time to dive into each of these categories. At the end of this blog post, you’ll know a few ways you’re likely overpaying for waste containers.
You Need Fewer Dumpsters
You need fewer waste or recycling dumpsters at your locations.
Are your dumpsters full each time they are serviced? Does your dumpster usage differ seasonally? Do you need every dumpster at every location?
What you don’t know is costing you
Your ideal service levels are those where you are receiving the right number of picks-ups for each dumpster. If your dumpsters aren’t full when they are picked up, you’re paying for wasted space.
Stop paying for inefficient equipment levels
If your dumpsters have different usage rates based on tourist season, for instance, you need a contract that reflects that. Why pay for additional services that you can’t use?
We often remedy this situation by evaluating your unique location needs. First, we’ll scour your invoice history. Do you have any overages? If so, how many? If you have none at all, that can be an indicator that your dumpsters are not being used at maximum capacity.
If you have a waste container that is charged by weights, we’ll look at your tonnage history. If you consistently have low container rates, this means that either you need few containers - or that you ended fewer pick-ups.
Our recommendations will take into account pricing from other market providers and your waste hauler contract specifications.
We’ll find the solution that’s right for you. And what saves you the most money.
(Psst! Equipment is only one way you’re overpaying on waste disposal. Your contracts are costing you. )
You may need a waste compactor
There are many reasons you may need a compactor, but these are the top two:
You’re a higher trash generator. Does an 8-yard dumpster picked up every day meet your service needs? If you’re generating more trash, you need equipment that can perform accordingly.
You generate food waste. You don’t need us to tell you this, but food can reek if it’s left out too long. Compactors help contain liquid and smells, keeping your location tidy and clean.
A waste compactor crushes garbage so that fewer pick-ups are necessary. The most frequently used size is 30 cubic yards. It requires an investment upfront, but it can save quite a bit of money over time.
We typically recommend compactors to clients who produce large amounts of waste and those who have space at their site.
You may need more dumpsters
You need more dumpsters but with fewer pickups.
As contrary as it sounds, you may be in a situation where it’s cheaper to pay for additional dumpsters but fewer pick-ups.
Assuming your dumpsters are being emptied when they are completely full, adding more dumpsters can be a cheaper option than paying for more pick-ups.
This solutions depends on:
What your haulers charge for pick-ups
What your waste haulers charge for dumpster rentals
If you are facing a situation where you have increased usage at a particular site or multiple site, schedule a 15 minute Discovery Call with us today.
You can’t afford not to know what options are best for you, and what money you can save.
You need larger waste containers
On the other hand, you may have the opposite waste disposal problem. Instead of needing more dumpsters, you may just need larger ones.
Suppose you have three 6-yard waste dumpsters on your site location that are picked-up 3 times a week. Our audit finds that these dumpsters are not used to capacity and that you could instead install 2 8-yard waste containers instead.
The larger size will allow you to decrease service to once a week. The rent for the larger dumpsters will be more expensive, but you’ll save more over time because you’ll be paying for fewer pick-ups.
You need smaller waste containers
More companies need this solution - and they have no idea! As a result, they’re overspending by hundreds if not thousands of dollars each year.
How to tell when you may need a smaller container
If your dumpsters are not full when serviced, you may need to downsize the containers. For each one of our audits, we get in touch with every site manager and go over waste and recycling details. We ask questions about current service levels and pick-up frequency. We ask about the equipment they have on site.
We ask these things to ensure that we have accurate information. Hauler invoices sometimes say one thing, but the reality may be something completely different!
How to tell when small waste containers really are a solution
We also find it invaluable to talk with those who have day-to-day knowledge of your current waste management process. We’ve found that they often have information that allows us to tailor our recommendations to the real needs of that location.
For instance, when our senior analyst will often ask “I’m thinking about “X” solution for this particular problem. Have you all ever tried that before? Would that work for your location from your perspective?”
Sometimes the site manager will give us really good reasons why that idea may or may not work. Maybe there’s a construction issue we don’t know about. Maybe there’s a vendor issue we haven’t heard of.
Finding out about these things from those on the ground is an invaluable part of our process.
Smaller containers vs. fewer pickups
Some of you may be asking, couldn’t you just get fewer pickups instead of pulling a few dumpsters?
The short answer? It depends. When we evaluate a location, we weigh the benefits of getting smaller containers vs. keeping the current containers and instead getting fewer pickups.
We do the math, and we figure out which solution is right for you and your locations.
Smaller trash dumpsters can mean big savings
Suppose you have four 8 yard dumpsters, but we find that they’re only half-full when they’re picked up. So long as there are no seasonal usage issues to keep in mind, we would likely recommend that you remove two of those dumpsters. Why pay for what you’re not using?
You could keep the same pick-up schedule; but you’d be paying significantly less.
Solve your waste problems today!
Solve your waste problems starting today. 90% of businesses are overpaying on waste - and you’re likely one of them.
But you can take the steps toward savings today!
Let us evaluate your locations to see if you need:
fewer dumpsters
a compactor
more dumpsters (with fewer pickups)
larger containers
smaller containers
You won’t pay us anything unless we find savings.
Schedule a 15 minute Discovery Call with us, and we’ll show how you can save.