What should a waste audit include for a commercial site?

At Nationwide Waste Solutions, we use waste audits as a foundation for smarter, more efficient waste systems. As a national waste management brokerage, our role isn’t just to collect data, it’s to turn that data into meaningful action, lower costs, and measurable ESG performance.

Here’s what a professional audit process should include and how it fits into a better waste management strategy for your business.

1. Clear objectives: cost, compliance, and improvement

A good audit starts with clear goals. For most businesses, those are reducing waste costs, improving recycling rates, and maintaining compliance. At Nationwide, we tailor each review to those objectives because no two operations generate waste in the same way.

Whether you manage one warehouse or dozens of retail sites, clarity upfront ensures the audit leads to real outcomes, not just a report on a shelf.

2. Reviewing current services and spend

The first step is understanding what’s already in place. That means reviewing bin sizes, collection frequencies, and service costs. Nationwide consolidates this data into one clear view so you can see where inefficiencies or unnecessary costs exist across your portfolio.

As a broker, we don’t just identify gaps; we fix them, optimising vendor schedules, adjusting service design, or introducing better recycling solutions through our national provider network.

3. On-site assessment and observation

Data tells part of the story but the real insight comes from seeing conditions on the ground. Nationwide’s account managers visit sites to check bin placement, signage, contamination risks, and access for drivers. These practical checks often reveal easy savings, from relocating bins to reducing missed collections and standby fees.

That’s the difference between a traditional audit and a brokerage-led one: it doesn’t end with identification, it leads to implementation.

4. Understanding what’s really in your bins

For larger or complex sites, a waste composition review provides valuable insight into what materials are being thrown away. Nationwide uses that data to find recycling or recovery opportunities through our extensive network of specialist providers. That might include:

• Cardboard recycling to reduce landfill volume
• Plastic recycling for shrink wrap and soft plastics
• Timber and pallet recycling for cleaner, safer work areas
• Food waste equipment to minimise odour and disposal costs

Once we know what’s in the bins, we can divert more material from landfill and reduce your waste costs permanently.

5. Turning audit findings into action

Nationwide transforms audit results into clear, practical steps such as right-sizing services, consolidating vendors, or introducing better recycling solutions.

Our reporting also supports ESG and compliance frameworks, helping customers demonstrate measurable environmental outcomes across all sites.

6. Ongoing optimisation, not one-off reviews

For Nationwide, an audit isn’t a one-time exercise it’s the start of continuous improvement. Once your waste system is optimised, we monitor it through regular reviews, performance data, and customer feedback. This ensures savings stay locked in, compliance is maintained, and new opportunities for diversion are captured early.

It’s a living process that keeps delivering results.

See what a better waste system looks like

If you’re not sure what your waste services are really costing or you haven’t reviewed them in years, Nationwide can help. We combine audit insights with national brokerage expertise to reduce spend, improve sustainability, and simplify waste management across every site.

Start with a Waste System Review from Nationwide Waste Solutions. You’ll get the visibility of an audit and the action plan of a trusted partner ready to deliver results.