How to Reduce Your Office Waste: Tips from a Recycling Centre

Most of us are pretty conscious about recycling at home these days, but what about in the workplace? Regardless of the size of your office, waste is always unavoidable and can mount up so easily. With this in mind, being aware of the ways you can lower your waste is crucial - and there are so many ways to go about this. Just by taking a little bit of extra time and care, you can make a huge difference.

Being environmentally conscious is at the forefront of lots of businesses' core values right now and the last thing you want is to be left behind. With this in mind, we have outlined a handy guide to reducing your waste in the office, to hopefully help you on your way to an eco-friendly workplace!

Use the services of a recycling centre

Something that is going to make a huge difference to your sustainability and how environmentally friendly you are is whether or not you use a recycling centre. This sounds simple but is a factor that makes a huge difference. Many workplaces are concerned with the huge amount of material being sent to landfill and want to do something about it. A recycling centre is going to be able to support you by making sure all of your surplus office waste is being responsibly disposed of and dealt with in a professional and organised manner.

Sadly, a great deal of waste which gets disposed of in the office can often be recycled but sadly isn’t. If you use a recycling centre, a dedicated team of individuals will make sure that they separate your waste ensuring that anything which can be recycled - will be. 

Have an appointed recycling monitor 

It's really useful to have a designated person who is going to be responsible for ensuring that recycling measures are being carried out. This is an ideal job for someone with an interest in recycling and someone happy to make sure all recycling points are emptied into the appropriate external bins, as well as ensuring the proper signage is in place. Updates on your recycling are distributed to staff members, this will be able to inform you of the extent of the recycling happening while also encouraging employees to meet targets on a weekly or monthly basis.

Stay informed about what recycling companies will take off your hands

As well as the obvious workplace materials such as waste paper there are plenty of other recycling materials around the office which can be diverted from landfill. Recycling goes much further than just paper these days!

Anything from computers, old phones, as well as other e-waste items are just some of the vast materials recycling companies will be able to dispose of. Why not carry out a waste audit of your office to help gain a better understanding of what items are being thrown out and if any of these items could be recycled instead.

Go paperless

The tide is turning in workplaces and the route people are taking is going paperless. With the technology available and at our disposal these days, this is total achievable! If there are still going to be areas that will require paper, perhaps take some time to evaluate which areas paper can be avoided.

Lots of offices offer employees huge printed manuals, contacts and other general admin supplies which aren’t exactly necessary. Instead, go paperless, it's a lot simpler than you imagine! All you need to do is supply PDF copies of all your company’s documents, and save the paper for the things that it needed for.

Invest in an eco-friendly coffee machine

If you want a productive and happy workforce - coffee is essential! Now this point may not seem obvious or directly related to recycling, however, you may be familiar with the coffee pod machines that have taken off in the last few years. This is due to their ease and how quick they are!

Although, not only are these pods quite costly to use but also not recyclable, producing loads of plastic waste. A better idea is to invest in a machine that utilises a bean to cup process. This means you’d be buying bags of beans and just popping them straight into the machine with minimal waste.

Use Air-dryers or reusable towels in the bathroom

Lots of offices come from paper towels in the shared kitchen or bathroom areas. Swap your paper towel dispenser with an air dryer or a reusable roll dispenser. Both worthwhile options depending on your budget and the initial upfront investment will be worth the savings you make on disposable paper towels.

Set up a recycling program

The first step to making your employees more mindful about waste management is removing their waste bins if you provide them with separate bins at their desks. The reason for this is when your workforce begins to sort their waste at work, this is going to lead to them thinking about it a bit more conscientiously. They have to physically take it to the recycling point themselves, not just throw it in their bin without any further thought!

Provide plates and silverware 

Rather than forking out for paper plates, reusable kitchen utensils, foam cups and paper napkins get some china dishes and silverware for your communal canteen or break room. You are going to end up saving plenty on the cost of buying and getting rid of these items and if nothing else, a real dish is just much nicer to eat off! Ensure everyone is responsible for clearing their dishes.

Set your printer to double-sided

This is something so simple but can save you hundreds of sheets of paper in a day.

Something as simple as having your printers set to automatically print on both sides of the paper when printing documents is a fantastic way to save paper and save you money on buying more of it!

Encourage the use of reusable water bottles

This one feels a little bit more extravagant as an eco-friendly measure but if you can afford to do it, a lovely gesture. Why not give your employees a reusable water bottle with your company’s logo on it? You will reduce plastic from water bottles and it's also good advertising when your employees carry it outside the office! A win, win situation!

Henry Waste, Skip Hire & House Clearance - Looking For Recycling Services Near Me? We Are Here to Help

Are you trying to be more environmentally in the workplace? Here at Henry Waste, Skip Hire & House Clearance, we make a huge effort to recycle our waste, but unfortunately, you can’t always guarantee that your rubbish will be responsibly disposed of. If you’re looking for a greener waste disposal service, get in touch with our expert team.

We are an established business that caters to all the waste management and property clearance needs of customers in Coatbridge, Hamilton, Motherwell, Airdrie and across North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian. We are a team of licensed waste carriers and are equipped to oversee any kind of waste disposal safely and professionally. Based in Coatbridge, we’ll ensure all your rubbish is carefully separated and recycled where possible, for your peace of mind. To find out more about the extensive services we offer, please feel free to contact us today to discuss your needs and find out more, we’d be delighted to help with any further enquiries you may have.