Stay-At-Homers Fueling an Apartment Waste Management Problem – and a Solution

Apartment waste management isn't something generally on the front burner at multifamily companies. But as waste management firms are picking up less trash at the nation’s businesses during the pandemic, what’s not in bins at workplaces is showing up in residential locations, creating multifamily waste management headaches. Working from home may continue for a while, even after the pandemic, which means waste and recyclable materials are likely to keep piling up faster at apartment buildings. Accelerating a trend that was already evident Before COVID-19, remote workforces were already seeing spikes in productivity. And when managers required employees to work from home they found that efficiency didn’t slide. Many say productivity has remained at pre-pandemic levels, or even gone up. It's expected that some of the COVID-19 shift to working at home will remain after the pandemic ends. That means stay-at-home workers will be dumping more garbage and recyclables at their places of residence. The U.S. has indeed been generating more household garbage, recyclables and bulky waste in residential areas. In some areas, trash volumes have risen 15-30% as residents pass idle hours with home projects or clean up around their homes. Even as economies have opened, apartment residents are feeding the dumpsters more regularly. And additional trash − fueled from more online purchases, take-out dining refuse and personal protective equipment waste − are creating mounds of garbage and recyclables, straining landfills and the recycling chain. Waste management companies are dealing with a tidal wave of plastic waste, a byproduct of masks, gloves and hand sanitizer bottles. Single-use items like plastic forks, knives, spoons, plates and Styrofoam containers are adding to the mix. Statista, an online research firm, notes that the amount of plastics found in products in U.S. municipal solid waste streams is on the upswing. More...