Introduction
 Narrator
Is your firm's recycling bin filled with cardboard? Do you have stacks of wooden pallets waiting for the garbage truck or recyler? Is your storage area filled with cardboard boxes, foam peanuts and other shipping materials? If so you're not alone.
Most manufacturers keep an eagle eye on waste from their manufacturing processes. They know that increasing the efficiency of their materials use will cut costs and improve the bottom line. But while you're watching what you produce you may be overlooking how you package and transport your product.
According to the EPA one-third of the waste in a typical manufacturing and distribution operation is packaging. And whether it goes into the recycling bin, the trash or on to your customers it costs money to buy, time to handle, space to store and resources to create.
The key is to prevent waste in the first place. When we practice waste prevention we do great things for the environment and for our bottom line.
Derek Smith-Norm Thompson
At Norm Thompson what we really want to prove that sustainability is the right thing to do not only for the planet but also for business. That the environment and the economy are in fact congruent not at odds at all. We have in the same year that we will reduce our waster in half we will contribute $500,000 to the bottom line through sustainability efforts. And over the course of the next five years as we reach our zero waste goal we will contribute $5 million dollars to the bottom line. We think that's very doable.
Narrator
The great news is that waste prevention is something we all can do. All we have to do is look at our operations from a different angle.
 Jane Krause-Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital
We've also looked at things differently. And maybe we don't need to open as many supplies all at once…including when you start a case in surgery you often have saline and water. Perhaps you could use just the saline or just the water. So, everyone's gone through a thought process of what they can do to reduce waste.
Narrator
Manufacturing and distribution operations provide a wealth of opportunities to prevent waste. And making a small change in your operation can make a big change in the bottom line—both financially and environmentally.
There are five general areas where your firm can look to prevent waste…packaging received from suppliers…in-house manufacturing and transportation processes…items sent to customers…toxic materials and waste that could be used by others.
Each of these areas provides lots of opportunities to rethink the way we do things. You don't have to be a big business to see the results. Even small businesses are saving time, resources and money by preventing waste before it begins.
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