Turning Trash into Treasure – Simplifying Waste Management for a Circular Economy

Navigating the labyrinth of waste regulations is no easy task, especially when each business location has its own approach to dealing with trash. That's where Martin Brower can help. We partner with businesses worldwide to transform their waste challenges into sustainable solutions, making it simpler to manage waste and meet regulatory requirements.

Callouts:

• We've kept over 74 million kg of our customers' waste out of landfills every year.

• In 2022 alone, we recycled an amount of cardboard equivalent to a million trees.

• The used cooking oil we collect from restaurants in select countries isn't just waste; it powers our fleet vehicles.

Take, for instance, a global fast-food chain. They have seen an explosion of regulation regarding their waste streams. The regulations are quite complex. In some countries, it is a flat tax based on weight. In others, each city is determining its own rules and penalties for waste being sent to landfills. The core challenge was not just the logistics of dealing with cardboard and food scraps – it was finding a comprehensive solution that manages the extensive data and reporting, determining the priority waste streams, and supporting change management internally to get the job done.

Martin Brower supported our customer as a strategic advisor, considering how to have the best impact on the planet and move toward a circular economy, all while managing the practical realities of the business.

We started by getting clear about the problem. In each market, they were grappling with a fragmented waste management system across thousands of locations. Each restaurant juggled its own waste practices, caught in the tangle of local rules and higher waste costs. The result? It was almost impossible for the corporate office to get a clear picture of their waste management effectiveness, making it that much harder to demonstrate regulatory compliance, substantiate sustainability goals, or manage costs.

As a strategic partner, we created a unified circular waste strategy to streamline the process and add value. Acting as a central hub — or "control tower" — we created predictive analytic data tools to understand expected and actual waste flows, led the identification of waste partners, assessed how we could maximize the value from waste, managed the coordination of waste pickups with reverse logistics and managed waste streams data and reporting.

Our hands-on approach extended beyond just creating a strategy. We delved into the specific needs of individual restaurants, local regulations, and logistical challenges. This allowed us to offer tailored solutions that not only made waste management easier but also had a positive environmental impact, validated by data analytics.

Collaboration was key. We always kept our customers in the loop, shaping the plan together. This included developing third-party vendor agreements for waste management and processing, training restaurant staff in new protocols, and delivering transparent data analytics for ongoing performance assessment.

The outcome? A simplified, more effective waste management system that also delivers both environmental and financial gains.

The Results:

Partnering with customers in 9 countries to divert waste from landfill. 
Currently collecting 7 waste streams via reverse logistics and managing more through third-party partnerships.

Join us in turning waste management from a headache into an asset. Because when it comes to waste, there's always room for improvement.