Reuse and Recover Materials to Save Money
Recovering materials that may appear at first glance to be waste can save significant amount of money and reduce the amount of waste you are sending to the landfill. Reusing materials in your process can save you purchase and disposal costs. If you are interested in reusing materials in your process, first determine if the materials can be recovered and reused in the process. If they can be recovered, but cannot be reused in your process, consider placing those materials on the Minnesota Materials Exchange so another business can reuse them.The Minnesota Materials Exchange is a free service that links organizations that have reusable goods they no longer need to those who can use them. By providing a business reuse network, the Materials Exchange program helps prevent usable materials from becoming waste.
Company Examples
The following examples show how the Materials Exchange can help companies.
- Hi-Lo Manufacturing was moving its facility and needed to dispose of four totes of waste rubber belts. The company listed them on the Materials Exchange, hoping another company could benefit from the product that would otherwise need to be disposed of in the landfill. An employee at JJV Rubber found the listing online and requested the belts for use in playground and landscape material. JJV Rubber was able to save money and conserve resources. Hi-Lo saved $50 in disposal costs and was able to help another Minnesota manufacturer.
- The City of Bemidji had a large tote of sodium hydroxide that had not been used in ten years. After listing the chemical on the Materials Exchange, the City was contacted by Keystone Automotive in Brainerd. Keystone traveled to Bemidji and pumped 1,900 gallons of the chemical into a truck and took it back to the facility where the chemical was used to neutralize plating solutions.
Resources for More Information
- Minnesota Materials Exchange
- Rethinkrecycling.com: Information on waste reduction, recycling and proper disposal.
- Recycling Markets Directory: Online database of end-users, processors, brokers, recycling facilities and haulers of recyclables.