Date: December 12, 2025
Author: Jimmy Dresser, Senior Program Manager
Effective Tips for Reviewing and Tracking Facility Operations
To accurately evaluate waste streams and track progress, site visits and assessments are essential to the total waste management (TWM) process. Whether a company is fully engaged with a total waste management partner like Envita Solutions or trying to decide where to begin with their waste management, understanding every aspect of their facility functions and waste collections, including recycling and items to be sent to a landfill, can help identify opportunities for cost savings and increased sustainability.
Questions to Consider During Assessment
Every site visit starts with an agenda. At Envita, we work with our customers to find a time that not only fits in with their schedule but also allows the team to be thorough. During the visit, we consider every step of operations while considering key questions:
How can we identify opportunities to divert materials from the landfill?
What could reimagining our waste flow look like?
What materials can be moved into a recycling program?
Is there an opportunity for creative reuse?
Are there operational efficiencies that we can consider?
How can TWM support this effort? Can we provide the operational efficiencies so material doesn’t move repeatedly between warehouses? Or can we find another way to store a material?
During the walkthrough, how can we consider our customer’s entire process?
What do they make? How do they make it? How and where are these waste streams generated?
Having the Right Team Onsite
For an effective and efficient site visit and assessment, having the right people working together is essential, so the team varies by site needs. The program manager from Envita will not only coordinate and attend the site visit but also work with the customer to identify and reach out to other key personnel.
This could include the main customer contact, an environmental health and safety manager or specialist, and relevant vendor partners such as equipment operators or maintenance managers.
The Value of the Data
Site visits are a helpful tool in gathering data. This first visit establishes a baseline, and from there, any additional visits enable us to revise and refine a waste management plan. All the data we collect is entered into our IS2 Data Management system, allowing us to track in real time how a revised process works. This helps the Envita team stay ahead of customer needs and stay on track to meet sustainability goals. Additionally, this data can be used to document sustainability for certifications, such as achieving Zero-Waste-to-Landfill (ZWLF) status.
What Sets Envita Solutions Apart
Envita is committed to doing what’s best for our customers as we help them resolve their waste challenges. During a site visit, we are looking at our customers’ operations and byproducts and considering the type of waste being generated. We look for opportunities to solve potential problems and identify adjustments in operational procedures so that our customers can focus on keeping their employees safe and making their finished goods.
Envita considers how to make our customers’ waste streams cost-effective. Our team might see something like a product coming down the line and notice an operational efficiency that could reduce waste in production. For example, an operational efficiency could be something as simple as changing how a customer cuts shrink wrap – adjusting from an employee working with a box cutter to using another tool that makes cuts evenly and automatically – reduces the risk for their personnel while being more efficient.
When we do a site visit and develop solutions, our team works to provide the most reasonable option for price considerations and to improve efficiencies without interrupting day-to-day operations.
As a true partner, Envita develops relationships with our customers that enable us to provide custom solutions and have realistic conversations so customers can make informed decisions. We value our customers’ business, and we will adhere to all their safety compliance and rules throughout our site visits and our partnership.
Start your total waste management journey by connecting with our experienced team.