A monthly hauler invoice at the most basic level is a monthly averaged cost for hauling your waste (which accounts for normal seasonal fluctuation). This is often based on, 1. an estimated average weight or cubic yards per waste stream, and 2. collection frequency (total pick-up days per week) by waste stream. When we say waste stream, we mean trash, recycling (glass, metal, plastic, paper, and cardboard), and food waste/organics.

Unfortunately, there are not universal standards dictating what information your hauler shares with you on an invoice. When you begin to read your invoice, you should take note of the following (icons indicate bits of information needed for waste data collection outlined in Section 4):

01.

Is the cost on the invoice itemized by the type of waste being picked up (e.g., cardboard, compost/organics, recycling and trash)? Or is it all lumped together in one (e.g.,“putrescible waste”)?

Note: You can ask your hauler to itemize your waste bill by the waste streams you generate, but this can take time.

We recommend making this request when you start communications with your hauler regarding invoice renegotiations.

02.

Can you decipher the pricing style of the invoice (e.g., priced by weight, volume, or both?).

Note: We recommend asking to be charged in pounds.

Note: If you have a container(s) onsite (e.g., dumpster, toter) haulers will typically charge by the estimated weight or total capacity in yards of each container on site, even if the containers are not full when tipped. See quick cost saving tip #3 to potentially reduce your hauler costs for streams with containers.

03.

Does the invoice indicate quantity by waste? This might not be a consistent unit per stream (e.g., quantity in yards vs. quantity in pounds).

04.

Are there additional costs (e.g., pick-up fees, equipment rental fees, broker fees, special service pick-ups)? If so, these should all be listed separately.

05.

Are collection days listed (i.e., specific days of the week or total collection days by waste stream)? The collection schedule is useful to know for negotiations and for our suggested calculations below, but is not always listed on an invoice. You may need to gather this information from a team member.

A business should only pay for the volume or weight of waste that it generates, but waste is not a metered utility service like electricity. In fact, most waste collection trucks do not have built-in scale technology. In order to ensure that your business is accurately paying for the waste you create (or to have useful data for renegotiating your hauler fees),

Foodprint recommends that businesses establish how much waste their business generates by conducting their own assessment. Assessing waste generation is not hard, dirty or time consuming when done right. Foodprint estimates that if your current waste bill is under $3000 a month, gathering the necessary data should take no more than 30 minutes.

Goal: The goal is to create your own estimated monthly weight by stream. To do so you need to follow these steps.

Establish an average weight per bag, bin, container or bundle by waste stream - Link to Tracking Weight tool.

• Count the number of bags, bins, or bundles you generate in one week, by waste stream material type - Link to Weekly Tracking Tool.

• Calculate the monthly total estimated - Link to Monthly Calculation Tool.

Before you start tracking your waste, you’ll need to gather the following items:

• Hand scale or a floor scale (hand scales are cheaper);

• Latex gloves;

• A flattened piece of cardboard or a milk crate (if using a floor scale);

• A data collection sheet (link to Tracking Weight Tool).

To Begin:

At the end of the night when all the waste is gathered, you need to weigh each bag, bin or bundle separately.

Record waste stream weights on your Daily Waste Audit sheet.

When all data is entered:

• add up the total weight by stream and

• divide by the number of units (e.g., bag, toter, bundle) per stream

• this will determine your average unit weight by stream (keep this handy for calculations below).

Suggestion: If using a floor scale when weighing your waste, be sure that no sides of the bag, bin or bundle are touching the ground. A trick to help with this is to lay a flattened piece of cardboard or milk crate on the scale to raise it up or increase the surface area. Be sure to tare the weight after adding the additional item, and then put the bag, bin or bundle on top to get your weight.

04. Weekly Tracking

Once you have the average weight for each waste stream, your next step is to gather data to help you calculate the average weekly total. Use Foodprint Group’s Weekly Waste Tracker, and count and note the number of bags, bins or bundles by stream that you set out for the rest of the week.

Add up the total by stream to get your weekly quantity then follow steps below to get your monthly weight.

05. Calculate Your Monthly Avarage Weight and Cost by Stream

Using the information compiled above, you can now calculate your average monthly weight per waste stream and the estimated cost per month (Link to Monthly Waste Calculator Tool).

If you do not have a rate ($) for a waste stream listed on your invoice, we suggest using the rate listed for trash/putrescible waste as a starting point for comparison. Reaching out to your hauler to request the rate for that waste stream is also recommended, but can take time. Recycling should be less costly than trash, but this is not always the case.

Once you have your estimated weights, you can compare them to the quantity on your hauler invoice to determine your waste costs.

To calculate your hauler’s estimates for the weight of each waste stream use the following calculation (Link to Hauler Quantity Calculator)

• Use the Helpful Conversions (below) to convert pounds from your audits to yards if needed .

• Repeat for every line item on the bill.

• Compare the monthly weight you calculated to these hauler estimates. While these are just estimates, you should share this information with your hauler to hopefully negotiate a lower cost.

Armed with your updated waste generation information and your current fees, you are ready to contact your hauler to request a reduction in cost or service based on your own waste estimates.

Be sure to follow up with your hauler to confirm the change, otherwise you may continue to be charged for the full amount.

Reminder: Foodprint recommends that you first track your waste production for one week and use that data to determine monthly weights to help you negotiate pricing, please see Estimating Current Waste Generation. If you want to understand how much waste you are being charged for generating, please see Understanding Your Waste Bill.