How To Lower Your Apartment Complexes Waste Bill

Scott Williams, property manager of Springwood Apartments, recently found himself in a difficult predicament. He was tasked with finding ways to increase his property’s profitability without raising the rent. Being unable to increase revenue, he began a thorough examination of his property’s expenses. While conducting this examination, one payment stuck out to him in particular- his monthly waste bill of $1,384.76.

Scott found this difficult to justify, but only one hauler serviced his area, making it challenging to negotiate lower hauling rates.

Stumped but not ready to give up, Scott began to do some research to see if there were any other ways to address this issue. After a few Google searches, Scott had discovered a potential solution- Compaction. Being the nation’s premier trash compactor supplier, Scott decided to give us a call. Scott told me more about his situation and wanted to know if we had any solutions that could save him money, so we set up a time the following week to conduct a waste audit of his property.

Springwood Apartments’ audit revealed a garden-style complex with a centralized trash location with 4, 2 yd containers, each hauled twice per week. This added up to about 68.8 cubic yards of trash per month.

4 Containers x 2 pulls per container = 8 Pulls Per Week

8 Pulls Per Week x 4.3 (Average number of weeks per month) = 34.4 Pulls Per Month

34.4 Pulls Per Month x 2 (Containers are 2 yards each) = 68.8

I explained to Scott how using a trash compactor would reduce the volume of his trash at a 3-1 to 4-1 ratio. The appropriate equipment would lead to fewer pickups and, most importantly, a lower trash bill. After looking at his trash area to see the amount of room he had, I proposed a 20-yard self-contained compactor. This would reduce the volume of his trash to between 17.2 and 22.9 cubic yards per month while lowering the number of pickups per month down to between 0.9 and 1.1.

68.8/4= 17.2 (Cubic yards/month at 4-1 ratio)

68.8/3= 22.9 (Cubic yards/month at 3-1 ratio)

17.2/20 yd container= 0.9 pick-ups/month

22.9/20 yd container= 1.1 pick-ups/month

I added up the monthly rate of the compactor rental + associated charges (hauling fee + dump fee + taxes) and concluded that by using a compactor, his new waste bill would be between $1,052.63 and $1,081.78 per month- saving him $302.98/month at the low end and $332.13/month at the high end. Scott was impressed. He never realized how much money utilizing the right waste equipment could save him. After about a week of discussion with his superiors, Scott gave me a call and was looking to get the process started. I sent over the contract right away for him to approve. About a month later, we got his equipment installed, and he’s been enjoying the benefits of compaction since.

I write this today because Scott’s story is a familiar one. He isn’t alone in being unaware of the impact of having the wrong waste equipment on your bottom line. If you feel your waste bill is too high, don’t assume that there’s nothing you can do about it. Contact us today and let a professional evaluate your equipment. 

*Names of those involved and property have been changed