5 Tips To Make Your Office Recycling Program More Effective
Posted on: 25 January 2016
If you have already set up an office recycling program as part of your waste management scheme, then your office is probably contributing to the sustainability of society and the protection of the environment. However, you may still see large amounts of garbage leaving your building every day and wonder what you can do to make your recycling program more effective. There are several solutions that you can implement to help reduce trash and increase the amount of recycling in your office building.
Put Together a List of Local Restaurants that Deliver In Recyclable Packaging
If your employees often order lunch at the office, then you may want to put together a list of local restaurants that package their food in recyclable containers. This can include paper bags instead of plastic and paper containers lined with foil. Once you have created a list, post it around the office to encourage employees to order from these environmentally friendly restaurants. Be sure to include phone numbers and online ordering options on the list as well as note whether your employees need to request recyclable packaging.
Review Your Shredding Policy
Unfortunately, a lot of recycling companies do not accept shredded paper because it has lower fiber quality and is difficult to contain on the way to the recycling facility. For this reason, you may want to review your company's current shredding policy and make sure that you are only shredding documents that require it for security reasons. You may need to host a training, reminding your employees to shred sensitive documents and recycle non-sensitive documents, taking the time to separate the two.
Alternatively, you can find a waste management provider that accepts shredded paper as part as their local service or through a mail-in option.
Create a Recycling Monitoring Program to Increase Employee Participation
When you first start your recycling program, your employees may be excited to participate. To keep them involved, you should create a way to measure the impact of their program. You may want to post a sign above your recycling stations letting your employees know how much material has been recycled. Alternatively, you may share how much trash has been reduced since the last month. You may want to implement a reward program, where the staff enjoy a casual Friday or a small office party on months where their trash output is below a certain amount.
Post Fun, Specific Infographics About Recycling Around Your Office
After awhile, the recycling bins will become a standard part of your office and your employees may not notice them, meaning they may stop using them as much. If you regularly post fun, engaging infographics about how to recycle, what can be recycled, and the benefits of recycling, you can keep your employees engaged in your recycling efforts. While these should contain helpful information, they should also be fun to read. For example, you may want to create a cartoon of yourself completing various recycling tasks to make the information more relevant to your office.
Talk With Your Waste Management Provider About Additional Solutions They Offer
Your waste management provider may offer several recycling options that you are not aware of. They may recycle different materials, offer single-bin recycling, or have a mail-in option. If you want to increase the effectiveness of your program, call your waste management provider to talk about the current problems your program faces and what they can offer to make recycling easier for everyone in your office.
While starting an office recycling program is an important step, it is also important to make sure your employees remain engaged and aware of their waste habits at work. For more information, click to read more.
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