Date: January 20, 2026
Featuring Envita Solutions Experts: Rashell Harcourt, Senior Director of Strategic Development, and Josh Hon, Corporate Sales Executive
Total waste management (TWM) is the holistic approach to optimizing waste streams by analyzing existing processes, finding opportunities for immediate impact, and continuously improving the system. This allows organizations of any size, across any industry, to increase operational efficiencies and cost savings while meeting their sustainability goals.
Working with a TWM partner allows an organization to have a one-stop shop for landfill diversion, recycling and reuse, waste minimization, equipment optimization, circularity strategies, regulatory compliance, and everything in between. Developing a TWM process requires time and investment; however, the benefits of a well-coordinated, experienced, and expansive TWM partner cannot be understated.
Envita Solutions experts, Rashell Harcourt, Senior Director of Strategic Development, and Josh Hon, Corporate Sales Executive, share their perspectives on some of the most significant questions companies across North America have about total waste management and how it can help.
What are the benefits of Total Waste Management?
Rashell Harcourt: Total Waste Management (TWM) goes far beyond recycling programs or landfill diversion. It’s a comprehensive, strategic approach that helps organizations take control of their waste—not just handle it. A few key reasons are 1) Cost Efficiency, which reduces both operational friction and inefficiencies along with long-term waste expenses, 2) Sustainability & Compliance, commitments internally and external reporting requirements. A strong TWM partner will centralize the data, provide the baselines that teams use to track against the metrics and improvements needed, and 3) Strategic Insight, offering a perspective utilizing all waste streams, data points together to clearly inform and communicate to the customer for smart decision making.
Josh Hon: The true benefit of total waste management is that it can really help track and measure impact. TWM is about implementing efficiencies and partnering with someone who has the industry knowledge to understand the organization’s challenges and can help make a sustainability impact.
What potentially holds a company back from engaging with a TWM partner?
Harcourt: Change is hard, and that alone can hold companies back from engaging with a Total Waste Management partner. But what many don’t realize is that sticking with the status quo often means leaving money on the table. TWM shouldn’t be viewed as an expense—it’s an investment in future efficiency, transparency, and performance.
It also requires companies to think about their goals and the level of risk they’re willing to carry. Any unmanaged waste increases operational and safety risks, and those risks ultimately drive up costs. A TWM partner helps reduce that exposure by bringing structure, insight, and accountability to every waste stream.
Hon: Initially, there’s always going to be concern about the bottom line. Companies know there’s going to be cost savings, but what does that look like? The truth is, with total waste management cost savings, sometimes it’s not realized in the first three months. The reality is, the true investment is over 12 months, 24 months, 36 months… so what was a cost has now turned into a commodity because we’ve implemented some better practices.
I think many customers start with compliance concerns or just a focus on reporting, which is good, but they quickly realize that the real cost savings and sustainability goals are realized through best practices to improve efficiency, reduce liability, and ultimately enhance the brand reputation.
What is a starting point for an organization that wants to take a more comprehensive approach to their waste?
Harcourt: The best starting point is a comprehensive waste audit. That means looking at every trash container and assessing the facility from end to end—how people move through the space, how offices manage waste, and how the operation flows overall. When you understand what’s being generated and where, you can measure it. And once you can measure it, you can start identifying opportunities, reducing inefficiencies, and building a more strategic, data‑driven waste program.
Hon: Whenever a company wants to take a real look at their waste streams, I encourage them to consider: What product(s), waste, and potential byproducts are we currently generating? How are we doing it? What are the current procedures or practices we have set up?
This gives a company a baseline of what they’re currently generating, so when a TWM partner joins in to help, they can have a discussion around best practices within their industry and identify ways to implement the best practices that work for them.
It helps build that road map, so a company can ask: What are our clear goals? What are the metrics? And what would a trusted partner look like that could help us manage all these waste streams and give us more data?
I think data-driven insight helps companies realize what they are currently doing and how they could move forward.
How does a Total Waste Management partner help an organization?
Harcourt: A TWM partner makes it easier for organizations to do the right thing. The sustainability landscape changes constantly—new regulations, new technologies, new outlets, and new best practices emerge every day. A TWM partner stays ahead of those changes and brings that expertise forward, helping organizations navigate complexity, simplify decisions, and confidently move toward better outcomes.
Hon: Your TWM partner is not here to replace someone’s EHS employee or to replace what they’re currently doing. A true partner is an additional asset that can provide greater visibility, powered by metrics and data, into their operations to help implement best practices that keep them competitive in their industry and help them meet their ESG goals.
The time to start Total Waste Management is now.
Reimaging production waste streams, meeting sustainability goals, and realizing cost savings is not a fad. Total Waste Management is an approach that can bring a company into the future, and that future is already here. The true value of total waste management is that, with the right partner, it can help track and measure the impact a company is making. TWM is not just a compliance issue. It’s an opportunity.
To improve your waste management, gain visibility into your waste streams, and increase cost savings, contact the experts at Envita Solutions. For 25 years, Envita has created custom solutions to reduce our customers’ environmental impact through material recovery, energy recovery, composting, recycling, or creative reuse. We work within a variety of industries, partnering with organizations of all sizes to transform their approach to waste management.
Learn more about our Total Waste Management services.