A waste audit checklist for small businesses
18th January 2026
The most effective way to maximise the efficiency and sustainability of your business is to perform regular waste audits, giving you a greater understanding of how much waste your company produces, what kinds of waste it produces, and where there may be opportunities for change.
To get the most out of a waste audit, it should be as thorough as possible. Obvious ways to make your business less wasteful and more cost effective could be right under your nose, if only you knew where to look for them.
Let us give you an introduction to conducting your next waste audit, so you can make your business less wasteful, more efficient and more environmentally responsible.
Identify what waste you produce
The most important step of any waste audit is creating a detailed list of all waste streams across your business. This includes general waste, recycling, food waste, hazardous waste, WEEE, and packaging.
How much of each does your business generate over a particular month or year, and from where? Understanding this is the first step to finding alternative, more efficient waste management solutions.
Review how waste is stored and segregated
Being aware of how waste is stored while it awaits collection is as important as knowing what kind of waste is produced.
Check whether waste is correctly separated, clearly labelled, and stored safely to prevent contamination, overflow, or non-compliance. This is especially important with hazardous waste, but keeping all general waste separate from your recycling will ensure that your business is as eco-friendly as possible.
Assess collection schedules and costs
Waste collection services are a necessary cost for any business, but you may be paying more than you need to, depending on how much waste you generate.
Compare how frequently waste is collected against how full containers actually get, and review invoices to identify over-collection or unnecessary services. You should also check for rising costs, to determine whether it would be more cost-effective to hire the services of a different waste collector.
Check legal compliance and documentation
As the UK makes the move from a linear economy to a circular one, legislation regarding waste management is becoming ever stricter, with the aim of boosting recycling rates and reducing the amount of waste in landfills.
Ensure that all your documentation is up to date, and that you and your staff are following all the latest legal requirements regarding waste storage and disposal. Check that you have valid waste transfer notes, duty of care records, and licensed waste carriers in place, and that all documentation is accessible for all staff members.
Spot opportunities to reduce, reuse, and recycle more
Identify areas where waste could be prevented altogether, materials reused, or recycling rates improved through better processes. This could be a matter of making many small changes, such as using digital documentation or printing double-sided, or a few larger ones, such as working with your suppliers on packaging to employ reusable or biodegradable alternatives.
Getting your staff on board with any rule changes is essential. Train and re-train them so everyone who contributes to your business knows how to handle waste, how to separate it, store it and label it. Create a greener, more considerate attitude to waste across every part of your business, so efficiency becomes second nature.
Conducting a thorough waste audit can be an overwhelming process, particularly for a small business, and adapting your findings into more effective waste management protocols is even more difficult. Working in partnership with commercial waste collection experts will ensure you get the most from your audit, guiding your business to a less wasteful future.
Contact Everflow today!
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