Offices go through tons of paper, plastic bottles, ink cartridges, and pens, and lots of office equipment ends up in the land field when no longer needed. Setting up a recycling system at your company can help reduce the quantity of waste it creates.
Here are some ideas to help you get started!
1. Sell the Idea to Your Boss
Sustainable ideas are very well received nowadays and recycling saves money. Share your plans with your Boss and get him or her involved. Besides, sharing your idea with your boss will help spread the initiative among the rest of the employees.
2. Audit the Waste
Looking into what is generating the most waste will help you create a recycling plan. For example, if food is among the items that create the most waste at work, why not set up a simple compost system in the office kitchen? Then employees can take finished compost home to use in their gardens! Auditing the waste will also help you calculate current costs and savings as accurately as possible.
3. Motivate Your Co-Workers
Invite everyone in the company to get involved by focusing on the state of the planet and how we can work together to preserve the environment by reusing and recycling. Present some statistics and a plan that includes how to avoid waste and where to recycle what. Set some realistic objectives as well. This will motivate your co-workers because they have to reach a goal working as a group. Then keep everybody informed on the progress made through e-mails, newsletters or even a blog.
4. Contact Your Local Waste Service
Contact the company that collects the trash and arrange for them to collect what your office will be recycling. You can also recycle old electronic devices such as computers, copiers, printers, and other office equipment in recycling electronic centers. If they still work, the other option is to donate them to local charities.
5. Make It Easy for Everyone
Your recycling program will be more successful if it is well planed and easy to follow. Setting up clearly marked recycling areas around the office or closest to where most of the waste comes from will help your co-workers find them quickly.
Happy recycling!