A "good" waste & recycling management firm will provide ongoing cost reduction and environmental efforts.
They will have either quarterly or bi-annual meetings with their clients to show their most recent achievements and to discuss the next phase of efforts to reduce costs and improve recycling / environmental sustainability, etc.
This is definitely not a formula that holds true for all management firms.
The area of ongoing management varies greatly in the realm of waste & recycling management.
Some firms only manage standard waste bins and maybe cardboard recycling, while others manage everything from standard waste and recycling to hazardous waste.
While the firm that manages more types of waste and recycling typically has more industry experience, you always have to be on the lookout for firms that are complacent in their account management approach.
This means that their mindset is to "set-it-and-forget-it".
They just want to put a program in place once and move on.
They will do the basic day-to-day maintenance but they are not looking to go the extra mile to drive ongoing cost reduction, improved recycling, etc.
Why would some firms not be proactive and not work toward constant improvement in their approach? Good question.
There can be many reasons, but one reason can be related to a lack of personnel.
The "so-called" management firm may not have enough people on staff to focus on ongoing account management or improvement.
In other cases, it could be a lack of "qualified" personnel on staff.
For instance, their most experienced personnel may all be constantly working on the next new client and they never have time to work with or help guide the account management team.
Speaking of the account management team, another reason for the lack of a proactive approach can be that the firm just does not have enough account managers.
In this instance, the account managers have way more accounts than they can handle, and they spend all of their time putting out fires instead of being proactive.
Why is it important to have a management firm that is proactive at driving ongoing cost reduction and environmental efforts? The most obvious reason is to ensure you are constantly driving cost reduction.
A less obvious but just as important reason is to drive constant improvement in the amount of recycling your company is doing.
Today you are constantly hearing the chant of recycle, recycle, recycle...
There is such a growing focus on corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability that you will be hearing this chant even louder and more often as time goes by.
It would be like you standing on the beach and seeing a gigantic wave way out in the ocean coming in your direction.
You know if you do not take proactive action you will be in trouble.
That's why you need to make sure you have a "good" management firm.
As the gigantic wave of corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability gets closer to your door, they will already have you headed in the right direction.
So, prior to engaging with a management firm, make sure you know whether or not they truly provide ongoing cost reduction and environmental efforts.
The simplest way to find this information out is to ask their references.
If they pass the proactive challenge you are on the right track.