Waste processing system and method

Abstract

A waste processing system ( 10 ) evaluates the waste processing requirements of a waste producing entity ( 20, 30 ) and evaluates the waste processing capabilities of vendors ( 40, 60, 80 ), and manages the waste processing of waste components produced by a waste producing entity ( 20, 30 ) by selecting vendors ( 40, 60, 80 ) to service the waste producing entity ( 20, 30 ).

1 . A waste management method for managing the processing of waste components produced by a waste producing entity, the method comprising the steps of evaluating waste processing requirements of a waste producing entity; evaluating waste processing capabilities of a plurality of vendors; comparing the waste processing capabilities of each of the plurality vendors to the waste processing requirements of the waste producing entity; and selecting a set of vendors from the plurality of vendors to provide waste management service for the waste producing entity, the selection based on the comparing step. 
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of minimizing the waste components produced by the waste producing entity. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising the steps of: monitoring the waste processing requirements of the waste producing entity; and reevaluating waste processing requirements of the waste producing entity based on changes in the waste processing requirements of the waste producing entity. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the steps of: monitoring the waste management service performance of each vendor of the plurality of vendors; and reevaluating the waste processing capabilities of a vendor of the plurality of vendors based on the performance of the vendor. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the steps of: selecting a preferred vendor from the set of vendors for a waste processing requirement of the waste processing entity; requesting the preferred vendor to provide waste management service for the waste processing requirement of the waste producing entity; and requesting at least one of the other vendors from the set of vendors to provide waste management service for the waste processing requirement of the waste producing entity if the preferred vendor does not provide waste management service for the waste processing requirement of the waste producing entity. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of storing waste processing data relating to the waste management services provided by the set of vendors to the waste producing entity. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising the step of generating a consolidated financial statement based on the processing data relating to the waste management services provided by the set of vendors to the waste producing entity. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising the steps of: storing regulatory information related to the waste processing requirements and waste components produced by the waste producing entity; and generating regulatory reports based on the regulatory information and waste processing data associated with the waste producing entity. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of evaluating the waste processing requirements of the waste producing entity comprises the steps of: monitoring the waste components produced by the waste producing entity to determine when the waste producing entity requires waste management service; and requesting a first vendor from the set of vendors to provide waste management service for the waste producing entity when the waste producing entity requires waste management service. 
     
     
         10 . The method of step  9 , further comprising the steps of: withdrawing the request from the first vendor if the first vendor does not respond within a period of time; and requesting a second vendor from the set of vendors to provide waste management service for the waste producing entity when the waste producing entity requires waste management service. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of minimizing a processing cost of the waste components produced by the waste producing entity. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising the steps of: monitoring the waste processing requirements of the waste producing entity; and reevaluating waste processing requirements of the waste producing entity based on changes in the waste processing requirements of the waste producing entity. 
     
     
         13 . A waste management system for managing the processing of waste components produced by a waste producing entity, the system comprising: means for storing waste processing requirements data of the waste producing entity; means for storing waste processing capabilities data for a plurality of vendors; means for comparing the waste processing capabilities data of each of the plurality vendors to the waste processing requirements data of the waste producing entity; and means for selecting a set of vendors from the plurality of vendors to provide waste management service for the waste producing entity based on a comparison by the comparing means. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , further comprising means for monitoring the waste processing requirements data of the waste producing entity. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 13 , further comprising means for monitoring the waste management service performance of each vendor of the plurality of vendors. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 13 , further comprising: means for selecting a preferred vendor from the set of vendors for a selected waste management service; means for requesting the preferred vendor to provide the selected waste management service for the waste producing entity; and means for requesting at least one of the other vendors from the set of vendors to provide the selected waste management service for the waste producing entity if the preferred vendor does not provide the selected waste management service for the waste producing entity. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 13 , further comprising the means for storing waste processing data relating to the waste management services provided by the set of vendors to the waste producing entity. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , further comprising means for generating a consolidated financial statement relating to the waste management services provided by the set of vendors to the waste producing entity. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 17 , further comprising: means for storing regulatory information related to the waste processing requirements and waste components produced by the waste producing entity; and means for generating regulatory reports based on the regulatory information and waste processing data associated with the waste producing entity. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 13 , further comprising: means for monitoring the waste components produced by the waste producing entity to determine when the waste producing entity requires waste management service; and means for requesting a first vendor from the set of vendors to provide waste management service for the waste producing entity when the waste producing entity requires waste management service. 
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 20 , further comprising means for withdrawing the request from the first vendor if the first vendor does not respond within a period of time; and means for requesting a second vendor from the set of vendors to provide waste management service for the waste producing entity when the waste producing entity requires waste management service.