Once we get in the habit of recycling at home it is only natural that we begin to look to the workplace for more opportunities to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Paper is probably the worst offender when it comes to the office and we’ve all probably used the term “killing trees” while printing out lengthy documents for meetings or for industry manuals. It is an easy place to begin and doesn’t require a big investment since you can place paper recycling containers within each person’s office to get them started. Speak to the maintenance department first because they will be the ones removing the material. You can help them establish a system for shredding the paper or having it picked up.
Ink cartridges are also abundant at work, as are soda cans, styrofoam, and plastic food containers. Half the battle is making recycling easy for those who are new to it. Having the right recepticles in convenient locations will help. You can post signs to help educate people of the benefit recycling provides and perhaps hold a meeting or two to introduce your program.
You’ll need someone to oversee the project and buy-in from management. You will probably find it takes awhile for people to get in the habit but eventually it can become second nature. Even if you can’t get everyone onboard you can still feel good about the ones who do. It is more than were recycling before you started.
You can find our more and download free resources at http://www.recycleatwork.com/resources