There’s no denying the amount of waste that comes from most offices. Think about the amount of paper you go through, the unwanted egg and cheese sandwiches from those meetings and the un-recycled coke cans that find their way to your personal bin.
More and more offices are trying to adopt a more ‘green’ attitude, which is great news. We’ve put together some ways to keep your office motivated to recycle and avoid waste…
Paper
There are a number of ways that offices can save on paper and it only takes the smallest amount of extra effort. First things first: try and minimise the amount your office prints out. Encourage people to use computer files rather than printed files when possible.
If it’s not possible – which we understand, sometimes it might not be, – make sure that your printer and photocopiers are set to printing on both sides. That can reduce waste by up to half, which is not something to be sniffed at!
Recycling made easy
To avoid your colleagues putting their cans in their personal bins, or plastic in the paper recycling, it’s important to make sure that you invest in decent recycling bins. They should be big enough to house the recycled goods of every person in the office, and should be clearly labelled to avoid any mix-ups.
Make it easier for the people you work with – especially the lazier colleagues who don’t like moving more than 20m from their desks – by having a number of these bins around the room so they don’t need to walk far to put their empty can of coke in the right bin.
Plastic bags
Now that the law of paying for plastic bags has been put in place to promote people using them, why not embrace that in the office? We’re sure you know a number of employees at your work that go and pick up a Meal Deal every lunch break from somewhere, so how about having a stock of plastic bags in the office? Not only will it save you all 5p a trip and get you into the habit of bringing your own bag, it will also be helping the environment in the long run.
