The waste and resource recovery industry has been in a state of dynamic change since China commenced rejection of low quality loads of recyclables. Now more than ever, with other disruptive forces present, we need to consider and decide on where our organisations are heading and how we are going to get there.

 

Planning can take many forms but at its core it involves assessing the current situation, working out the direction/s we want to go, deciding on how we are going to get there and then evaluating our progress along the way.

 

Strategy relates primarily to the 3rd aspect of the planning process; how we are going to get there. The Diverter is able to help you develop a clear picture of the current situation, combine stakeholder views and industry opportunities to build direction and objectives, refine ideas into specific and realistic strategies and then monitor progress to optimise chances of success.

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• Know your take off point by gathering all necessary data to be able to conduct useful research and make some informed decisions. Collect information regarding your own information such as financials, staff and other resources, competitors and the industry generally to paint a picture as to how your organisation is placed. Seek comments from stakeholders such as customers, staff, suppliers and owners to find out others’ perspective on what should be considered for new plans.

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• Use the information collected to develop strategies – this may start with a SWOT analysis or group brainstorming sessions or problem solving exercises. In any case, discussions should seek to identify opportunities to develop or use a competitive advantage or ability to achieve an organisational objective. These opportunities identified can be turned into strategies. For example, a waste service provider may identify that new technology will allow for delivery of a valuable service yet to be tested in the market. Or a local Council may identify that it can start diverting organics from landfill. Or a region may provide an opportunity for new recycling infrastructure to divert material from landfill to a recovered resource. Limit strategies to 5 or 6. The plan can always be revised but it is inefficient to develop a plan that cannot be completed.

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• Build some methods around the strategies to start to describe HOW the strategies will be carried out. In our organics example above, we may do some further research on organics collection and processing in the area to develop the actions we can undertake that will have the biggest impact on the goal. That may be, for example, organise for organics to be transported to the nearby processing facility, tender for a kerbside organics collection, separate self haul green waste at Council’s waste facility and conduct a resident education program on diverting organic waste. Enough detail should be noted for each so that any person from the organisation can pick up the strategies and understand what is happening and how it is going to happen. Keep in mind that your plan may be 20 pages long or distilled to just 1 easily communicated page.

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• Implement the plan and monitor the progress along the way as constant monitoring enables small improvements to be made easily rather than having to make a major correction later. Let stakeholders know of your progress to enable associated activities to be aligned to your successful planning and project delivery.

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