How Recycling Affects Your Bottom Line

1. Your customers will notice

Consumers are as eco-conscious as ever, and this awareness has spilled over into influencing the brands they choose to give their business to. According to one study, more than half of consumers reported they would be more likely to visit restaurants with eco-conscious models. How does that affect your bottom line and save your business money? Well, in this case, recycling potentially makes you money by attracting more customers to give you their business. In a time in which consumers have access to more options than ever, doing something as simple as recycling to increase traffic to your business is invaluable.

It is also a simple and free marketing tool. If your business adopts a healthy and aggressive recycling plan, make sure people know about it. You can advertise it on your various social media platforms and with signage throughout your facility. The message is simple: you are doing your part to contribute toward a greener future. It is clearly something your customers care about. Make sure it is known.

Read: Seven ways the sustainability movement has the restaurant industry adapting

2. Saves money on waste disposal

The simplest way to look at recycling is that it reduces your facility’s total waste output. The smaller your waste output, the less money you’ll spend to have someone dispose of it. Your disposal cost is typically a fixed expense you pay each time your trash is picked up. Recycling will reduce the number of times your trash needs to be picked up, which reduces your total costs associated with the bailing, collection, and transportation. Recycling can turn out to be a net savings or a net expense. According to the National Restaurant Association, 65 percent of restaurants who have a recycling plan say it ends up being a net savings for them.

Not to mention, if your business currently has two trash receptacles located on your property, you can potentially reduce your waste output to the point of only needing one. The cost of operating and maintaining a typical trash receptacle varies according to location, size, waste collection frequency, but many estimates have it coming out to around $180 per month per bin.

Cutting down to just one bin versus two will not only save you a sizeable amount of money, but it will also eliminate an eye sore from the premises of your facility.

3. In some cases, like used cooking oil, your ‘waste’ has value

Recycling might seem like a hassle among the many other things you have to worry about, but it has literal monetary value in some cases – like your used cooking oil. The grease that your staff uses to deep fry your food is worth something when you partner with the right recycling provider. And at the end of the day, a grease recycling service is a necessity for your business to operate smoothly and avoid headaches down the road. The spent oil used to fry food has to go somewhere. Pouring it down the drain will lead to plumbing issues and potential fines. Throwing it away is hazardous and environmentally harmful, which is why recycling is the way to go. Don’t pour money down the drain when it could go into improving your bottom line.

Read: What happens to used cooking oil when it goes down the drain

A reputable recycling partner will pick up your used cooking oil from a storage tank and haul it away for you. Some providers take that grease and convert it into ingredients used in the production of a renewable diesel – a cleaner burning alternative to petroleum that can be used to power commercial trucks and reduces carbon emissions by up to 85 percent per gallon. Because your oil has value when put into the right hands, your provider will pay you a market-based rebate for what they collect. You’ll receive a check in the mail. Like any other commodity, the value of the grease fluctuates, and your rebate will reflect the current state of the market, but at the end of the day, your business is receiving compensation for something it needed to get rid of anyway.

Recycling cooking oil is beneficial in multiple ways. You’re saving money and improving your bottom line while also contributing to cutting down carbon emissions, another green practice you can market with your recycling plan. Some providers will be able to calculate the exact impact your oil makes in terms of cutting carbon emissions. Brands like Chick-Fil-A and Wendy’s are already doing just that and making it known to their customers. Make sure your business signs up with a reputable grease recycling provider to get the most consistent value out of your used cooking oil.

Recycling benefits everyone in the end. These are just a few of the many ways your business can save money and improve your bottom line by implementing a recycling plan. Make sure you are doing your part when it comes to recycling, it’ll pay off in more ways than one.

Read more: How to create a recycling plan for your restaurant.