What Happens If You Don’t Dispose Of Construction Waste Properly?

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If you’re working on a construction site, there’s always waste that you must dispose of correctly. These include excess material, worn-down equipment, and rubble you can’t just throw away like ordinary household trash. They usually consist of harmful materials that easily seep into the surrounding environment, causing serious damage.

However, proper waste disposal gets overlooked easily when you’re handling a new residential or commercial project. The reasons why construction companies should pay more attention to this matter span more than just issues with convenience.

In fact, not following construction waste disposal protocols can cause the following things to occur:

1.     Greater Loss of Revenue

Construction sites are usually temporary locations. Managers have the responsibility of clearing them out before handing the site over to its new owner. Without a proper waste management system, it may take much longer than expected to do this. This can delay the completion of the project and cause considerable losses to both your company and your client.

Those losses include a reduction in revenue. After all, your firm will have to cover disposal costs which may become larger than expected if they’re not taken into account. You can avoid this situation by making waste management a key part of your project management. This can include renting construction roll-off dumpsters to handle debris and waste concurrently with other operations. This saves time, resources, and energy, allowing your project to stay on track with its timeline.

2.     An Increasing Carbon Footprint

Construction waste on the roof of the house under construction. Outdoors

Construction projects usually emit large amounts of carbon dioxide and methane. Couple that with improper waste disposal, and you’ll find yourself increasing your firm’s carbon footprint. This may affect your prospects and even put your business’s reputation in question, which we talk about later in this article.

Having a proper waste disposal system in place can mitigate your project’s impact on the environment. One way to achieve this is to work with a reliable dumpster rental in your site’s vicinity. Having a partnership at the local level provides your company with a vantage point from which you can immediately address environmental issues.

3.     Mounting Governmental Fines

Most countries around the world have strict laws regarding waste disposal and handling. If you fail to follow these laws, you might get fined heavily by government agencies. Your firm may even be shut down temporarily until the proper restitutions have been made.

If this happens, you risk straining your relationships with clients who have invested heavily in the project. Companies that run afoul with government agencies also face lower prospects in the long run. For these facts alone, it should be standard practice to have a proper construction waste management system in place.

4.     Damaged Corporate Reputations

Following the two previous points, having a proper waste management system makes your clients and community view your company as socially responsible. By making your construction company greener, you directly and indirectly contribute to continuing sustainability efforts. As a result, you increase the value of your project.

Your firm may even gain the attention of potential partners interested in green initiatives. Many large industry players are actually invested in forging relations that advance global sustainability goals.

On the other hand, a history of improper waste management can leave a huge dent in your reputation, no matter how impressive your portfolio may be. Market shares quickly drop for firms that get outed for mismanagement of any kind. In light of today’s current concerns about the environment, records of improper waste disposal are no exception to public scrutiny. On this front at least, your firm should be invested in following construction disposal protocols.

5.     Higher Incidences of Injury and Death

This is the most severe consequence of not having a proper construction waste management system on your job site.

Waste disposal is among the measures designed to keep workers safe from sharp objects, electrical and heat hazards, chemical exposure, and freak accidents. After all, waste limits space, makes movement difficult, and unleashes a regular stream of pollutants that can cause serious harm over long periods of time.

An increase in work accidents and fatalities is connected to the lax or improper enforcement of disposal protocols. It may even put people who are not involved in your project at risk. There are many recorded incidents of pedestrians getting in accidents due to mismanaged debris and faulty equipment.

It’s safe to conclude that proper construction waste disposal helps reduce the cost of lives. That’s another reason to pay close attention to it.

 

Key Takeaways

As the owner of a construction company or the manager of project, you should always consider waste disposal as part of your plans. Failure to practice proper waste management can cost your firm a lot in terms of financial prospects, revenue, public standing, and lives. When it comes to any large investment, you must cover all bases. Something as simple as this can be the difference between your company’s continuing growth and its downfall.