Waste-hauling costs are increasing and recycling policies are becoming stricter. Apartment operators are seeing the effects and are taking a variety of steps to improve efficiency and cost-effectiveness. In Part 11 of this 13-part, in-depth report, we make the case that waste-hauling tracking data will improve operations.

Apartmentalize Session in June Will Focus on Data-Driven Strategies

More and more apartment companies are leaning on data from their waste-hauling firms or waste- hauling consultants to help manage their waste management programs.

KPI’s such as cost per door, average cost to pull, average cost year over year are proving to be invaluable. The No. 1 billing methodology should be usage-tonnage with numbers for recycling, landfill and cost. The second most preferred billing method is to multiply the number of pick-ups per week by four to get total month’s usage and cost. The third method, which is not recommended, is to just bill cost. All invoices should detail the number of bins used, sizes and frequency. It’s recommended that the community’s billing methodology and reporting requirements be included in the RFP for service.

“Working with your waste hauler from the beginning of the RFP process to discuss the right approach for what data is available and can be shared will go a long way in making a company’s execution more efficient and less costly,” NAA Vice President of Operations Amy Groff says.

Apartment operator The NRP Group utilizes a waste management consultant for sourcing, managing and auditing waste services. Key points it focuses on are cost, including add-on charges, says The NRP Group’s Vice President of Facilities and Maintenance Michael Mulloy.

“Fuel fees, environmental fees, etc. that can be tacked on at the hauler’s discretion will cause your costs to balloon quickly. We prefer to negotiate terms that lock in those types of discretionary fees. Overage charges and contamination charges are other ways haulers are trying to increase their net invoices. We are using analytics to determine property type and location, etc. that are commonly being charged and trying to proactively avoid them.”

At Pinnacle, Raymond van Beveren says his company’s national partnership program with Waste Management provides “a reporting platform that gives full visibility into our waste spend (including fees by category), photos of our contamination charges and resources to help us educate our staff and residents in an attempt to further prevent these events from occurring.”

AvalonBay has used Waste Management exclusively within its portfolio for the past two years in its effort to manage waste.

“We find that having one partner enables us better, deeper data and clearer visibility allowing us to make better decisions related to our waste management practices,” AVB’s Vice President of Corporate Responsibility Mark Delisi says.

AVB’s goal is a 20 percent reduction in landfill-bound waste by 2023.

“If we achieve it, we will eliminate approximately 400 pounds per apartment home of waste annually, or 13,500 tons of waste annually,” he says. “Establishing, tracking and reaching our waste goal at the community level has been a multi-year process, both to ensure data quality and to determine how we will measure and achieve the goals.”

A session focused on using data for waste management strategy will be offered at Apartmentalize, set for June 26-28 in Denver. Visit Apartmentalize to register. Back to the Trash Talking in-depth report or read the part 12 story: Can Onsite Composting Pass the ‘Smell’ Test?