Conservation and prudent use of resources plays an important role  in sustainable development. Waste management is one of the scopes that forms part of the Sustainability strategy that is adopted by the South African Post Office. The paper aims to highlight different process that mail goes through in mail operations, and the waste generated during operations. It will further highlight how the use of Lean Process and the implementation of various environmental laws such as National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) Act no 107 of 2008 can offer a better waste management strategies and tools in the inventory centre.Mail operation is the major service provided by the South African Post Office and its core function is mail sorting and delivery. Currently waste is measured and managed only at administrative level, and these  possess a challenge as most waste is generated through the process rather than at administrative level. This  disables the  organisation to measure and categorize the existing waste and to place corrects and effective strategies that will enable them to manage waste. Lean principles will be used to address the aspects of defects and rework which is one of the major losses contributing to productivity and profitability.  A site  visit was conducted, and it gave insights to the challenges outlined above. It is evident from the information collected that there is a need for waste to be managed at process level and the implementation of effective strategies.