The Rubbish Consequences Of Poor Waste Management
5th Jun, 2017
At Skip Hire Network, we’re wholly committed to our environmental responsibility; that’s why we’ve made effective waste management a key cornerstone of our business. We think you’ll agree it’s important – insufficient management of waste, whether domestic or commercial, can have a whole heap of negative impacts on a business or community.
Environmental Effects
Naturally, one of the biggest consequences of improper waste management (neglecting to hire a skip, for example) is its impact on the environment. Piles of rubbish can block waterways and drainage systems, which creates stagnant pools of water that make perfect breeding grounds for all sorts of undesirable critters. By the same token, waste can also infect local soil and water supplies, posing a tangible risk to human health.
The dangers of non-biodegradable objects (like plastic bags) are well known – with some not decaying for hundreds or even thousands of years, it’s far to say their environmental impact can be extremely long term.
Risks To Human Health
Lots of the unpleasant creatures who got an honourable mention above can make their home in domestic and commercial waste. They include rats, flies, cockroaches and mosquitos, and often act as carriers for diseases like malaria, dengue fever, hepatitis and typhus. Rats especially are known to carry Salmonellosis and Weil’s disease. Some of the threats can be more microscopic in nature, such as the germs that nestle in piles of rubbish that can cause health difficulties like cholera, scabies, tetanus and other skin and eye infections.
Obviously, this is all bad news for humans! With so many dangers to our health incubating in the nest of bacteria that are our rubbish piles, it’s in our interests to keep them as small, temporary – or preferably non-existent – as possible.
Fire Risks
Improper waste management can pose a threat in an even more direct way. Lots of the waste we routinely dispose of includes packaging, wrappers, newspapers, flyers, wood, insulating materials – every bit of which is worryingly flammable. Car tyres are a common cause of some of the largest fires, which is why their storage is fiercely regulated. Like other waste components, tyres also have the double-whammy of adding dangerous chemicals to the mix, which they release into the atmosphere when burned.
Horrible Smells And Visual Pollution
Nobody likes the sight of huge mounds of rubbish piled everywhere, no matter who you are. (Well, unless you’re a particularly enterprising rat or mosquito, we guess.) It also frequently stinks to high heaven, and on a warm summer’s day these smells can be even worse. Poor hygiene can have a serious impact on your community – no one would want to move somewhere openly unsanitary, after all. It can impact the local businesses and economy in the same way, as people stay away for as long as it’s a problem.
If you’re a business owner, the effects on your own company will be tangible and immediate. Public perception can be quick to drop and slow to build again, so once your business is associated with poor commercial waste management, it can take a long time for your public image to recover again.
The Simplest Ways To Manage Waste
The easiest way to manage your waste levels is to try and produce less in the first place! Recycling wherever possible and avoiding waste in day to day life can vastly help with keeping your waste levels down, which then makes it easier to manage in the long term. If things do start to pile up, keep it all away from doors and windows and make sure to deal with it at the earliest opportunity.
That’s where we come in! Hiring a skip is one of the most straightforward ways to deal with growing piles of rubbish, especially from one-off projects like a renovation or an office move. Whether it’s commercial or domestic skip hire, we’ve got your back at Skip Hire Network.
Click here to read more reasons to choose us, or simply enter your postcode and phone number to kickstart the skip hire process today!
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