Chaos. That’s how you might describe your day as a solid waste manager or director. If you’ve hired a waste company to manage your materials recycling facility operations, great! Committing to that investment is usually a sound decision. But as a municipal entity, you still have ultimate responsibility for running a profitable operation; managing labor costs and productivity; and mitigating employment, safety and financial risk.

          That’s where the chaos can begin. But it’s not where it ends.

          Your community, customers and stakeholders create a different kind of chaos. They want the best curbside service at the lowest price, and they expect a wise use of their taxes and fees for the operation of your MRF.

          And your employees want higher wages — in fact, your municipality may be mandating wage increases that squeeze your budget to the max. Turnover, absenteeism and low morale only exacerbate the problem.

          Now, that’s real chaos!

Profit and operating pressures: No end in sight

          At Leadpoint, we’re acutely aware of the profit and operating pressures government-owned MRFs are facing today. Municipalities across the country are dealing with changes in local recycling programs, tax and revenue pressures on their recycling services and ongoing efforts to educate consumers about recycling.

          Does this sound familiar?

• The cost and complexity of running a municipal operation is changing.
• Processing restrictions are driving down the price you can get for your materials.
• Bale quality and contamination are constant issues.
• Inbound streams are becoming more complex.
• Investment in public education is sorely needed — may be mandated — and is expensive. And changing behavior can feel like juggling cotton balls in a hurricane.
• The idea of MRF automation is attractive but challenging — and may be too cost-prohibitive to implement.
• Finding and retaining the right employees feels impossible in today’s competitive wage environment.

          The list goes on … your challenges can be overwhelming.

          There’s got to be a way out.

A ‘run our own’ groundswell

          We understand. Leadpoint gets calls every week from municipalities that are considering running their MRFs themselves as a way to regain some control and cut costs.

          With all the pressures on traditional operators, it can make sense for MRFs and municipalities of all sizes to explore the option of “running your own.”

          It’s not easy. Leadpoint can help.

          We understand what it takes to run MRF operations, handle the people side of the business and put our experience in recycling to work for you and your operation.

Hybrid partnerships with a MRF expert

          A solution that can make sense for some municipalities is to run their MRF plant themselves and let Leadpoint manage the system support functions. This hybrid partnership approach has several benefits.

• Operating knowledge: You know your business. We know your industry. Leadpoint has nearly 20 years of knowledge and expertise in running a wide variety of MRF plants. When you partner with us, we bring that experience into your operation every day, on every shift.
• High-performance standards: Leadpoint’s high-performance work team approach reduces turnover, training time, safety incidents and employee management issues for MRF operators. For each site, we recruit and hire a full-time crew of sorters, line leads and others, embed an experienced on-site manager, and handle the entire labor equation within the MRF.
• Planning, analysis and implementation: Some municipalities already have deep knowledge and HR expertise in-house; they’re just not sure how to bring it all together to run their MRF efficiently and profitably. Leadpoint offers short- and mid-term consulting services, outsourced on a stand-alone basis or in conjunction with our high-performance work teams.

          For example, our Workforce Optimization Team can work with your leadership team to build skills, confidence and processes, and then leave the day-to-day business with you.

          Or, our safety team can create, audit and implement safety programs that suit your operation and goals.

          And rather than leaving you with a plan, we can implement that plan for you, delivering an end-to-end solution that creates positive change.

• Direct hire and training: Perhaps you have the processes, structure and technology to operate your MRF independently but are missing a few key employees to lead the way. Leadpoint’s industry knowledge and connections can help here, too. Our team can recruit, train and help you select the right leaders, managers and staff members for your operation through our direct hire and training departments.

 

Pulling it all together

          When municipalities choose to run their MRF themselves, Leadpoint can join your team to run the operation, leverage our expertise and support your workforce. This approach can help you manage costs, maintain control of the big profit picture and improve productivity by having the right people, processes and performance measures in place to support your recycling goals and your community.

          What’s the opposite of chaos? Calm.

          Contact Leadpoint at (888) 205-1511 or sales@LeadpointUSA.com to take the chaos out of MRF operations and experience the calm that an experienced recycling partner can deliver.

NEXT: Solutions to bolster emission goals