Making Your Office a Greener Place

From waste paper to used ink cartridges and plastic pens, the waste generated from today’s working offices sits on a huge scale.

Starting an office waste reduction and recycling programme

Regardless of whether you’re aware of it or not, your company will be producing a great deal of waste on a daily basis. Dealing with this waste costs money and time, as well as productivity and resources – which is why it should be handled in the most efficient manner possible. If you can, it’s important to initiate office recycling to save money and the environment. After all, every piece of waste created equates to less money in your company’s pockets.

Conduct a waste audit

Conducting a waste audit is a great tool to use, as it will tell you both what and how much waste your enterprise is generating. You can then use these facts and figures to cut down on unnecessary waste.

Starting a green office programme

If you’ve decided to introduce a green office programme to your business, then now is the time to initiate it. There are a number of steps you can take to incorporate such a plan into your everyday working schedule – a great deal of which takes little effort.

Discuss ideas with the management

Before putting anything in place, it’s important to discuss any ideas you may have with the management, as they will be able to give you a better idea of what is and isn’t possible.

Identify a ‘green’ office champion

From reducing waste to recycling in the office, it’s important to appoint a member of your team to oversee the entire process. They should have an interest in creating a greener, more environmentally-friendly office space. They may wish to set up a communication system in order to let staff know of this programme and also, what the office has decided to do in order to initiate this programme. This may involve holding a group staff meeting or alternatively, sending around a mass email.

Tips for a successful recycling programme

In order to recycle in a successful manner, it’s important to follow a few tips. Firstly, you should identify any waste reduction opportunities, as this will make the task at hand that little bit easier. Next, identify materials being disposed of in large volumes against those that are disposed of in smaller volumes – this will help you to identify a successful recycling regime. Check where overstock issues are occurring as this can reveal any unnecessary wastage and can in turn save you money in the future.

Sources: http://www.michigan.gov/documents/deq/deq-ess-p2-recycle-greeningyouroffice_279362_7.pdf