Many of us are aware of our impact on the planet and take steps to reduce waste at home. But what about at the workplace? Turns out, it’s easier than you may think to reduce waste at work. Not to mention, it has tons of advantages in addition to being eco-friendly.
Recycling is often cheaper than sending trash to a landfill, and reducing or reusing can save you even MORE money- it’s estimated that businesses could save up to $3,000-$4000 per year by improving how they use resources. That’s a lot of green! (In more ways than one.)
Studies have shown that Americans generate over 200 million tons of waste every year, so it’s important to identify where that comes from so we can all take steps to reduce it.
Here are ten simple and easy ways to reduce waste at work:
1. Keep all recycling bins conveniently located
The truth is that many people only recycle when it’s convenient. Therefore, it’s best practice to keep recycling bins next to your trash cans where they’re visible and don’t require any extra effort to put things in the correct spot. Meet employees where they are by putting recycling bins next to printers and at their desks to serve as a friendly reminder. It may also be worth your while to debunk some widely held recycling myths.
2. Print smarter
Another way to cut down on waste at the printer is to change the settings to print double-sided as the default. You could reduce paper use by up to 50 percent. You can also encourage employees to use the “Print Selection” function to only print what they need and switch to draft quality where possible.
3. Consider your dish choices
Paper plates, plastic utensils, and styrofoam cups are all unnecessarily wasteful options. Here at ZTERS, we utilize compostable and reusable dishes and utensils. Not only are reusable dishes better for the environment, but they help you save the cost of purchasing disposable items over and over.
4. Provide reusable water bottles
Along with reusable dishes, you can supply employees with a reusable water bottle featuring your company’s logo. This will decrease the number of plastic water bottles going to landfills, and also act as free advertising when people carry them outside of the office. Win-win!
5. Buy in bulk
Bulk buying is not only cost-effective, but it also helps cut down on the amount of packaging you have to throw away. Everything from coffee and sugar to cleaning supplies and tissues can be bought in bulk to save money and the environment.
6. Conduct a waste audit
The waste audit process is simple: collect all waste for a week and use it to assess what people are throwing away. From there, you have more info to help you choose which waste streams are most being used and raise employee awareness.
7. Have a zero-waste competition
Who doesn’t love some friendly workplace competition? Challenge staff to see who can create the least waste for a week. Share tips to help them be successful and offer a fun incentive that motivates everyone to get involved.
8. Create a compost system
Supply separate bins for compostable waste, including food waste, landscaping waste, and non-recyclable paper products. You can then send this waste to a composting facility or use it to fertilize a plant bed for your office or community.
9. Check your mail
Remove your business from any unnecessary mailing lists to avoid receiving excess junk mail. This will also save you a lot of eye rolls. C’mon, another credit card offer? Also, be sure to reuse any incoming packaging for outgoing or internal mail whenever possible.
10. Invest in quality supplies
While it may seem like buying the least expensive office supplies is the most economical decision, cheaper products are usually less effective and have a shorter lifespan, meaning you’ll have to use more of them to get the job done. This creates more waste in our landfills and could even cost more in the long run when you have to regularly purchase more supplies. Choosing higher-quality supplies can ultimately save money and excess waste.
Even a few small actions to reduce waste at work can make a big difference. In fact, there are a lot of simple ways to reduce your carbon footprint every day. Try these suggestions and see how easy it is to care for the Earth and protect the environment for generations to come. Happy Earth Day!