Now, in most areas of the country, residents do not live far from warehouses. While they are inconspicuous and do not bother most people, they usually pollute a lot. In a warehouse, people use forklifts and other machinery. Furthermore, when using shipping items and boxes, a company will often overuse supplies. Sadly, must if this pollution is preventable; at the least, with a few methods, a warehouse manager can cut down on the pollution. However, with that being said, it is a slow process and here are five ways that warehouses are secretly polluting our environment.

Packaging: When putting an item in a box, a worker will use a lot of natural resources. Furthermore, the company will use plastic wrapping and peanuts often made of Styrofoam. These two materials can take hundreds of years to decompose. This will leave a huge trail of pollution in its path. Many people forget to dispose of these packing materials properly. As far as boxes, they are often not great for the planet as a manufacturer must use trees to make them. Without a doubt, the supplies used to ship are usually the worst part about a warehouse.

Machinery: To run the machinery in a warehouse often takes a lot of gasoline or diesel. Whether running the forklift, small trucks or the machinery moving the items, they use a lot of fuel. While not always noticeable, this is a huge problem, especially since many machines are small two-stroke engines and do not have pollution controls like cars.

Shipping: With shipping, one will need to use big trucks. When shipping materials long-distance, a company will put a lot of pollutants in the air. This is hard to avoid as most warehouses are on the outskirts of towns and often in sparsely populated states.

Cleaning: When cleaning up the warehouse, many opt to use harsh and harmful chemicals. This is often the case as most companies do not think of the long-term drawbacks. Sadly, this will likely continue as it is cheaper to buy harmful chemicals as opposed to investing in green solutions.

Waste: Some warehouses, especially ones where people make the product, create a lot of waste. When doing so, they pump it into local lakes, rivers streams and sometimes the ocean. This is a serious problem that can wreak havoc on the local and national environment. One must understand that rivers do not stay still at the polluted water will often cause headaches for people in nearby states or places thousands of miles away.

Solutions: At the same time, while it is easy to blame warehouses, it is smarter to offer solutions that work for everyone involved. For starters, a warehouse should use reusable containers as this is an eco-friendly and cost-effective way to protect the planet. In fact, with eco-friendly and reusable products, one will save money and gain a lot of good will within the community. Furthermore, with recycling programs and efficient trucks, the warehouse will use fewer resources and make it a better planet for everyone. Finally, with pollution controls, a warehouse can avoid damaging the local waterways. Simply put, with a few simple solutions, one can go a long way in protecting the planet.

Sadly, most warehouses pollute too more than their fair share. While this is true, with the mentioned solutions, a company can go a long way in fixing the problem.