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Step 1: Walk the floor and list what you generate
Before buying a single bin, spend one day noting what scrap comes off each machine or work area. A typical small unit will find most of these:
- Metal offcuts, turnings and swarf from cutting, turning or fabrication
- Cardboard and paper from incoming packaging
- Plastic film and wrap from pallets and incoming material
- Rigid plastic: drums, cans, crates, rejected moulded parts
- Wood: pallets, crates and packing blocks
- Cable and wire from maintenance work
- E-waste: dead motors, controllers, monitors, batteries
- General waste: food, dust and mixed rubbish with no resale value
Write down which areas produce which material. That tells you where each bin goes.
Step 2: Put the right bin at the right place
The rule is simple: the bin goes where the scrap is created, not where there happens to be space. A worker at a lathe will use a swarf bin beside the machine. They will not walk thirty metres to the right corner.
| Area | Bins to place there |
|---|---|
| Machining and fabrication | Ferrous metal, non-ferrous metal (kept separate) |
| Receiving and stores | Cardboard, plastic film, wood |
| Moulding or assembly | Rigid plastic by type, rejected parts |
| Maintenance room | Cable, e-waste, batteries (closed, dry container) |
| Canteen and office | General waste, paper |
Step 3: Label so nobody has to think
- Use one colour per material, the same across the whole factory.
- Write the name in Tamil and English, with a photo of the item on the label.
- Add a short "not this" line for common mistakes, such as "no oily rags" on the metal bin.
Labels that rely on someone remembering a rule fail within a week. Labels with pictures keep working.
Step 4: Keep non-ferrous metals strictly apart
If you do only one thing from this guide, do this. Copper, brass and aluminium are worth many times more than steel. A small quantity of brass turnings swept into a steel bin is paid at steel rates. Keep a small, clearly marked container for each non-ferrous metal you produce, even if it fills slowly.
Step 5: Protect the material while it waits
- Keep it dry. Wet cardboard and wet turnings are discounted, and wet cardboard can be rejected.
- Drain oil from turnings before storing them. Oily swarf is a lower grade and a fire risk.
- Store batteries and e-waste indoors in a closed container, away from heat and water.
- Flatten cardboard and bundle film. It takes less space and is easier to weigh and load.
Step 6: Make one person responsible
Segregation fails when everyone owns it and no one checks it. Give one supervisor the job of checking bins at the end of each shift and moving full bins to storage. Ten minutes a day is enough.
Step 7: Sell on a schedule, with records
- Agree a regular collection with your buyer, weekly or monthly, by material.
- Get a weighment slip and an invoice for every collection.
- Keep a simple monthly log of weight sold by material. Within a few months you will see which material earns most and where it is being lost.
Regular, sorted, predictable volume is worth more to a buyer than the same weight arriving as a one-off mixed heap, and it should be reflected in your rate. See how scrap dealers arrive at a price.
How we work with factories. We can visit your unit, suggest where bins should go, and agree a collection schedule by material. We weigh openly and give an invoice every time.
Want help setting this up?
Call us or send photographs of your current scrap area. We work with small factories and workshops across Thiruvallur and nearby industrial areas.