Whether your business produces electronics, textiles, machinery or other industrial materials, waste transportation offers you an efficient and environmentally-responsible way of disposing of its waste. While large companies are commonly equipped to process their own waste, small businesses often are not. Hiring an industrial waste transport specialist allows you to dispose of your waste in a timely and cost-effective manner without worrying about degrading the environment or straining your business' resources.

Before choosing a waste transportation service for your company, you'll need to evaluate your own disposal capabilities and needs. Some transporters provide full top-to-bottom waste management, including permits, document processing and waste certification. Other transporters simply provide you with your own containers and pick them up when you want. When making this important decision, remember these points:

1. Waste transportation companies often specialize in a specific kind of waste, such as nuclear, medical or chemical waste.

2. There are different transportation methods and standards for hazardous and non-hazardous waste.

3. Many waste materials are eligible for recycling.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Pick waste transport services that accommodate your kind of waste

Choosing a company that has the capability to transport and dispose of your business' waste is essential to your operation's success. If you generate industrial waste such as rubber, solvents or metal scrap, one company will likely be able to handle all of your disposal needs. Nuclear, medical and hazardous chemical waste often require more expertise, meaning you'll need to search out a specialist in that material.

I recommend: Waste Management is one of the nation's largest disposal firms and offers a vast assortment of transportation services. The Environmental Quality Company also provides a similar range of services, catering to bulk and small waste generators alike. If you're interested in nuclear waste transportation, consider working with Allied International.

Find waste transportation solutions for hazardous and non-hazardous waste

The methods and processes companies use in transporting waste depend largely on how dangerous it is to both the environment and human health. If your business produces waste that's corrosive, ignitable, reactive or toxic, you need to find a transporter that has the appropriate vehicles and containers to safely deal with it.

I recommend: Both Eldredge Waste Transportation and Clean Harbors Environmental Services process all kinds of waste, but they also provide top-notch support for transporting hazardous materials.

Go green by using waste transportation services that recycle

Although some waste products can't be recycled, many others can. The recycling industry abounds with companies that can reuse an incredibly diverse range of materials, including computers, rubbers, solvents and metal scrap. Choosing a company that recycles is both a simple and an affordable way to lighten your business' environmental impact.

I recommend: American Waste Transport & Recycling can recycle both hazardous and non-hazardous materials and provides an impressive variety of other services. United Industrial Services also recycles both kinds of waste, offering to dispose of such diverse waste products as wastewater, organic separations and chemical mixtures.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Ask your industrial waste transportation service provider about shipping waste using alternative transportation methods like trains. In many cases, shipping by rail is more timely and cost-effective than shipping by truck.