What Is the Cheapest Way To Recycle My Cardboard?

Does your business produce so much cardboard that it has become a problem that inhibits your production or limits your space? Are you running out of places to store cardboard? Have you thought about using a different vendor to pick up your cardboard, or changed companies to save money, only to find yourself paying more than you were originally? Are you charged random "recycling surcharges" or "offset fees" on your cardboard invoice? Does this seem right to you?

            What many business owners may not realize about the cardboard recycling commodity market is that there are no fixed costs for cardboard disposal. The marketplace is diverse, and cardboard holds more value in some areas than others. Most hauling companies capitalize on cardboard disposal by inserting language into their contracts that require customers use their services for all recycling removal, and then turn around and sell that cardboard for profit. Most hauling companies have sort facilities where they can bale the cardboard they collect into palletized cubes and sell it to purchasers.

            Over the years, Global Trash Solutions (GTS) has partnered with many different cardboard recyclers throughout the country (including waste haulers) who offer our clients the best available price in the market for cardboard disposal. In many cases GTS can cut cardboard recycling costs to a fraction of what they originally were, but in some cases when there is enough volume and baling equipment is warranted, GTS can turn what was originally a cost into an asset. Practically all cardboard purchasers will only buy and transport large quantities of baled cardboard, and GTS helps clients facilitate the entire process. GTS supplies baling equipment, negotiates trash and recycling costs, and always makes sure our clients are getting the best possible rates for cardboard recycling no matter where they are geographically located. Please contact us today at (866) 760-8194 for information on how we can specifically help your organization find the cheapest way to recycle cardboard.

What Is Going On with Commercial Trash Service in Los Angeles?

Are you interested in lowering your trash and recycling cost in Los Angeles? Do you own a commercial property or chain of commercial properties that need help in this area? Have you heard about what is happening in Los Angeles with regard to the upcoming mandates for business owners and property managers? Do you realize that you may soon lose your freedom to choose what hauler picks up your garbage in LA County?

In April of 2014, the city passed a new law, which in effect divides the city into 11 different zones. The city is currently collecting bids from 15 different waste and recycling vendors in the area, and will soon award exclusive contracts to each hauler for the 11 different zones. The LA Bureau of Sanitation projected that the municipal hauler contracts will be in place by January of 2017. What does this mean for you as a business owner or property manager? For one thing, it means that your disposal rate will probably go up. Global Trash Solutions (GTS) has experience consulting for businesses in hundreds of municipalities where the city contracts waste services for its businesses, and on average the cost to dispose of trash in these areas is much higher. 

Take Millbrae, for instance, a city in the Bay Area where Recology Inc (DBA SSF Scavenger) holds the current contract for disposal and recycling. The disposal cost for trash is $32.24/cubic yard, or $415.89 for one-time weekly service on a 3 yard container. In Los Angeles, equivalent service goes for roughly $100.00 per month or less. The Bureau of Sanitation says that this initiative is part of a larger plan to have zero waste implemented by 2025. In the Bay Area, the cities and towns have incentivized more recycling by making disposal extremely expensive.

GTS can help your business in Los Angeles save money on trash and recycling whether or not the city has a contract with a hauler. GTS has saved a large sum of money for clients in the Bay Area, as well as businesses in municipalities in 48 states across the country. Please contact us at (866) 760-8194 for information about how we can help you minimize your disposal costs.

How Can My Property Management Company Save Money on Garbage Service?

Do you own or manage several commercial income properties, apartment complexes, condominiums, or office buildings? Have you looked for ways to reduce your overhead costs and improve profitability? Have areas which include property maintenance, utilities, and garbage disposal and recycling expenses come to mind? Have you noticed that garbage disposal and recycling costs are particularly challenging to control and unpredictable?

All property management companies are up against a unique foe when they attempt to combat the ever-rising costs of waste disposal for their tenant's waste disposal. Waste and recycling companies throughout the US provide a valuable service, but they are not charities - they are out to gain profit, just as any other company is. Municipalities sometimes choose to haul their own trash, or subcontract services to a hauling company such as Waste Management or Republic Services. Unfortunately, municipalities are often not experts in the field of waste and recycling service, so they cannot provide the communities they serve with the most efficient, inexpensive means on recycling and trash disposal. Hauling companies are not incentivized to minimize their profit margins, so property managers often have a difficult time finding service providers who offer objective advice that provides them with the best service for their specific properties at the lowest possible cost.

 GlobalTrash Solutions (GTS) is a valuable resource to property managers because we combine the most efficient and reliable means of disposal and recycling at the best available rates in all 50 states. We custom tailor our solutions to fit each property's specific needs. Whether you require compaction equipment for you properties, expert advice on landfill diversion and environmental compliance, or would simply like to take advantage of our purchasing power and our staff's razor sharp negotiation skills to get your hauling costs under control, GTS has the capability to minimize your disposal expenses. Please contact us online today or call us at (866) 760-8194 for information about how we can help you save money.   

How Can My Restaurants in San Diego Save Money on Trash Service?

Do you own one or more restaurants in the greater San Diego area? Have you found that your waste costs are a substantial portion of your restaurant utility costs? Have you ever noticed these costs rising without explanation? Have you taken steps to lower your costs, but months later realized that your costs had risen back to the original amount, or even more? Do you know what steps, if any, your individual restaurants in San Diego are taking to reduce this recurring expense?

​Many chain-store and fast-casual restaurants in San Diego are overpaying for trash and recycling without realizing it. The age-old practice of overcharging customers for waste removal and setting them up with service agreements that contain unfavorable terms buried in fine print is rampant in San Diego. This pricing epidemic is not unique to San Diego, it appears to be a national problem for all business owners, large and small alike. The average hauler will increase your rates to almost triple what you were paying by the end of your second year under contract with them if you do not get help from an industry expert such as Global Trash Solutions (GTS.)

GTS most recently applied our waste consulting acumen in San Diego, CA by helping a local McDonald's Franchisee. Through our tried and true recommendations for chain store operators, vendor relationships, and negotiation tactics, GTS helped reduce his expenses by more than 50% at his restaurants in San Diego and Chula Vista. GTS employs proprietary tactics that we have learned through years of working one-on-one with multi-unit chain store operators. These tactics are proven to help practically any restaurant owner save money anywhere in he US - and San Diego is no exception. If you would like help bringing your waste and recycling expenses down, please contact us today at (866) 760-8194.         

What Happens When Waste Management Loses a Billion Dollar Contract?

Do you live in an area where the city government decides what hauler you must use for waste, recycling, or organic waste disposal? Have you ever been curious about how your city chooses the hauler you are required to use, or dissatisfied with their decision?

On Monday, August 18, 2014, Waste Management filed a lawsuit against the City of Oakland, CA, where they formerly held a ten year agreement to collect all of the city’s residential waste and recyclables. Waste Management (WM) sued the city because they lost the 1 billion dollar contract to a local company, California Waste Solutions, who WM’s legal team claims lack the infrastructure and stability to service the City of Oakland. However, Rebecca Kaplan, Councilwoman for the City of Oakland, said she and her associates on the city council voted 7-1 in favor of California Waste Solutions because they offered residents the best deal. California Waste Solutions offered to charge residents nearly $7.00 less than what WM offered in their proposal, which would collectively save residents over $200 Million, said Kaplan. Waste Management's proposal would have almost doubled the residents of Oakland were formerly paying for service.

GlobalTrash Solutions (GTS) is no stranger to the controversy surrounding city hauling agreements (AKA "franchise agreements.”) As consultants, we help our clients to navigate the sometimes murky waters of franchise agreements, and make sure haulers are playing by the rules. We pride ourselves on overriding franchise agreements on a number of occasions for reasons we cannot disclose to the public. However, we see these long term agreements as a challenge and an opportunity for our clients to save money in an area where they may have felt that their "hands were tied." 

GTS is not a waste hauler, but we hold haulers accountable by auditing our client's expenses and processes to ensure they are getting the most efficient and economical trash service. To learn more about our program, please call us at (866) 760-8194.          

How Can I Lower My Property's Trash and Recycling Expenses in Texas?

Do you own or manage a commercial property in Texas? Have you tried to find ways to lower your monthly overhead costs? Have you poured over your P & L statement in search of any areas where you can cut expenses? Have you ever thought about what your business pays for waste removal? Have you analyzed your monthly and annual expenses in this area, or even taken measures to reduce these costs?

Many Texans pay exorbitant rates for waste removal because they think of this cost as a fixed utility. Several small towns in Texas, including those along the border, have what appear to be "fixed costs" for trash and recycling removal because the city either picks up the trash themselves, or selects a hauling company to service businesses within the city limits. Some other towns have only one hauler, which limits your options for service. In larger metropolitan areas such as Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio, there are more options for disposal and recycling service, however, many of the haulers in these markets charge businesses as much as they can get away with for service.

Global Trash Solutions (GTS) manages over 170 customer accounts in Texas, and we have developed cost savings strategies for our clients in Texas that translates to over 400K annually, averaging $237.00 monthly savings at the locations we serve in Texas. We have the relationships and expertise to help almost any business in Texas lower their waste and recycling costs substantially, whether they are located in a major city or rural town. If you would like us to audit your waste and recycling processes to help you obtain the most efficient and cost-effective waste management strategy, please contact us at (866) 760-8194.

Can My Grocery Store Benefit From a Trash Compactor?

Do you own a freestanding retail market store such as Publix, Trader Joe’s, Kroger, Winn-Dixie, Wegmans, Whole Foods, CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, or Target? Has the price of trash or recycling from your location gotten out of control? Have you ever asked yourself if your business is using technology to it’s advantage as it relates to keeping trash and recycling expenses under control? Have you seen your trash and recycling expenses creep up over the years--sometimes more than you expected?

As independent waste consultants, Global Trash Solutions (GTS) has revealed that many haulers and local municipalities, responsible for providing refuse and recycling service to grocery stores and other large retail outlets throughout the US, fail to completely educate their customers on the potential cost-saving technologies available to them. Many of our clients were left “in the dark” about equipment and cost saving strategies that have become second-nature to GTS. Trash overflow, exorbitant monthly trash and recycling costs, and paying for recyclable commodities that can actually be processed and sold or picked up for free, are some of the typical problems grocery and retail establishments face every day.

For example, GTS recently helped a natural foods market, Harvest Market, in Grass Valley, CA reduce their annual hauling expenses by over $13,000.00 on waste expenses by recommending a GTS CV-03 Compactor because their trash was consistently overflowing, and they required pick-ups nearly every day of the week on their standard non-compacted containers. GTS helped our customer by researching the cost of compacted trash, implementing all necessary changes, and providing a full-scale return on investment that we found to be most suitable for their application. Unlike many other compactor sales companies in the industry, GTS offers our full knowledge-base and expertise to our clients when helping them select compaction equipment that best suit their needs. GTS steps in and assists in negotiation with haulers or municipalities when necessary. If you would like a comprehensive analysis that details which equipment will be most cost-effective and efficient for your organization, please contact us at (866) 760-8194.

Image courtesy of Flickr.

How Can My Restaurant Chain in Rochester, New York Reduce It's Hauling and Recycling Expense?

Do you own a restaurant chain or single franchised location in or around Rochester, NY? Have you taken measures to reduce the amount you pay for trash hauling and recycling at your company, only to see them rise substantially over the months or years, only to realize that your costs began to rise the moment you took your finger off the pulse? Have you been to the table several times with your vendor, expressed your concerns, been put on a "special pricing program", and STILL seen your costs trend upward after an initial period of stability?

If you answered "yes" to any of the above questions, do not lose heart. You are one of the thousands of businesses in your community that has tried to navigate the perilous waters of the trash hauling industry, and ended up overpaying in spite of your best efforts. You may even be overpaying without realizing it. Global Trash Solutions (GTS) has had prospective customers tell us there is "no way" my staff can lower their restaurants trash or recycling costs. Most GTS clients in Rochester and around the country fit into one of the above categories. 

We understand that, chances are, you did not get into the restaurant business to haggle with trash vendors about the price of taking your garbage to the dump. However, whatever your intentions behind entering the chain restaurant industry were, you are faced with the dilemma of convincing a hauler not to charge you more than what is fair for trash service. Do you realize that no matter what vendor you use, the practice of charging various excessive fees is standard operation procedure for most hauling companies in the US?

That is where Global Trash Solutions comes into play. We have experience in helping major restaurant chains such as McDonald’s, Panera Bread, Burger King, Starbucks, KFC, and others reduce their expenses without taking their focus away from running their restaurants. We have the relationships and expertise to reduce your restaurant’s expenses by 40% or more. In June of 2014, we helped the Owner of five McDonald’s in the Rochester/Syracuse Market save over 46% on his hauling expenses. GTS has a very high success ratio in helping QSR chain stores lower their trash expenses, even when they think it is impossible. Please call us today at (866) 760-8194 for information on how we can help.  

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