Providing clear direction for your customers is a simple, but often overlooked staple of landfill operations. Sure, you know your way around the landfill. But many of your customers don’t. Why is that? Well, for one thing, the active portion of the landfill is constantly moving. It’s here today, there tomorrow, and in a month…
And with all of the recycling opportunities offered at many landfills, customers must do more than just follow the dirt road to the dump. They have to go through the voluntary recycling area for newspaper, aluminum, and glass. Then it’s a quick stop at the white goods area to drop off an old appliance before zipping over to the greenwaste stockpile to toss those bags of leaves. If there is anything left, they may actually go to the landfill face with their trash. Finally, they may swing by the “Resource Recovery” area to pick up a can of recycled paint or a scoop of compost.
Managing municipal solid waste is more than landfilling: publicity, education, engineering, long-term planning, and landfill gas waste-to-energy are specialties needed in today’s complex environment. We’ve created a handy infographic featuring 6 tips to improve landfill management and achieve excellence in operations. 6 Tips for Excellence in Landfill Operations. Download it now!
Like everything else, going to the dump just ain’t as simple as it used to be.
Do customers ever get lost during this process? You bet. Sometimes they aren’t paying close attention, but—to give them the benefit of the doubt—all those choices can be confusing. Even Daniel Boone, woodsman that he was, admitted that, “I have never been lost, but I will admit to being confused for several weeks.” Hey, if it can happen to Daniel Boone, it can happen to anyone.
Managing municipal solid waste is more than landfilling: publicity, education, engineering, long-term planning, and landfill gas waste-to-energy are specialties needed in today’s complex environment. We’ve created a handy infographic featuring 6 tips to improve landfill management and achieve excellence in operations.6 Tips for Excellence in Landfill Operations.Download it now!
Start by evaluating your entrance signs. Are they easy to read and to the point? Remember, if you can’t read them as you drive toward the scale, neither can your customers. Your permit probably requires you to post signs that list your hours/days of operation, unacceptable waste types and important contact information. Most landfills also have instructional signs that include: No Scavenging, No Smoking, and Kids Stay in Vehicle. When it comes to directional signs, keep it simple. Take a lesson from highway billboards: one idea per sign, clearly and simply stated. Don’ttrytocramtoomuchinformationintotoolittlespace. See what I mean?
When it comes to directing your customers to specific locations within the landfill, consider using a simple system based on graphics and color. By combining those two elements, you can create very effective signs for leading your customers to any location
on the landfill.
Just be sure to have signs at every fork in the road to eliminate confusion.
Spend a few bucks. Create a system of signs that can direct your customers and eliminate confusion. You’ll have happier customers and a safer landfill.
Come on, some of you have just been itching for an opportunity to tell your customers where to go—here’s your chance.