CLEANER COMMUNITIES • SAFER WATERWAYS
Secure Structure Alliancesecurestructure.orgEnvironmental Education Resource
El Niño Ready • Retail Toolkit
One store. Hundreds of disposal decisions every day.
Retail, grocery, club stores, restaurants, warehouses, and other high-volume sites can reduce wet-weather mess with simple employee habits and a consistent back-of-house routine.
Free store kit
What every location should have.
60-second site check
Lids, loose trash, leaks, overflow, and nearby drainage pathways.Employee bin guidance
Simple reminders to read labels, sort correctly, and keep outdoor containers closed.Cardboard routine
Flatten, keep dry, avoid pavement storage, and follow local recycling requirements.Escalation path
Employees should know who to contact when a container is full, damaged, leaking, or repeatedly misused.High-volume sites
Look at the operating pattern, not just the dumpster.
Recurring problems often come from a combination of waste volume, service timing, employee turnover, receiving schedules, cardboard handling, food or organics, windblown material, and the distance between the back-of-house area and the outdoor enclosure.
Before rainMake one employee responsible for the check.
After delivery peaksLook for cardboard, wrap, pallets, and overflow before material accumulates outside containers.
Before closingMake sure outdoor lids are closed and loose waste is picked up.
This is operational education, not a regulatory determination. Local waste, recycling, organics, stormwater, fire, accessibility, and property rules may apply.