Office Waste Reduction Tips- The Way to Less of a Mess

The concept of recycling came into being almost forty years ago. But to many people, recycling often conjures up bottle drives and blue plastic bins.

While we may not be as attentive in everyday life or while we are having fun, it is important to attempt to reduce our environmental footprint by reducing waste during work.

Here are a few effective ways that you can reduce waste in your office. 

TIPS for the HOME HERE.

Don’t use a ton of paper

Printing out reports, documents, and other things repeatedly is sometimes an office practice. You print out one copy and notice a typo, then you decide to fix it and print another one, only to realize that you would have preferred a colored copy. 

It is much better to encourage yourself and all your employees to fix errors on screen and proofread text and formatting multiple times before printing. We need to save paper as much as possible. If it is necessary to print trials, try printing the first copy on the blank side of used paper sheets (another way of recycling) and once you are sure it does not contain errors, then print on a new sheet. 

Digitize it

“You’ve got mail” is an exciting thing to hear, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be from the mailman. Instead of encouraging customers to send mail to a physical address using paper, try leaving communication methods electronic, like voicemail, email, fax, and such means. 

It saves paper and also saves the fuel the mailman spends to get the letter to you! 

Rent instead of buy

Hoarding is not a good practice and keeping unnecessary items, whether they are supplies or machinery is equal to increasing waste. Hence, it is always a good idea to rent equipment that you use occasionally instead of buying it. That decreases your expenditure and also reduces the waste that an unused product costs just lying there in the cabinet. 

Obviously, resources such as plastic, metal, and others are saved by doing this. 

Ink cartridges should be reused

Ink cartridges are often discarded without much regard or second thought. If you are really interested in becoming a responsible citizen, you really must recycle your ink cartridges. Get them refilled with ink instead of discarding the whole cartridge and purchasing a new one. 

It takes a little bit of effort and perhaps a little bit of extra time, but it definitely makes a difference when it comes to conservation of the environment. 

Packaging is not preferred

Try to opt for products with less packaging or you can simply send the packaging back to the supplier to be reused. If you are selling products yourself, try to sell them without packaging or with minimal recyclable packaging. 

Again, the waste that product containers/packages cause is ridiculous and opting to reuse them or just not use them altogether is definitely a step towards the positive. 

Compost food scraps

Landfills are filled with food waste and it never looks good or smells good for that matter. If you have a lot of employees or even if you yourself are a foodie, food scraps are a major waste product that your office produces. Leftover cookies, half of that birthday cake, pizza crusts, etc. all need to be composted. 

If you have a compost removal company nearby, make sure you contact them and set up a regular visit. You can also try having your very own compost bin if your circumstances permit. 

This is a very important process and a natural one as well. Instead of filling up your city’s landfills, try helping out by composting waste at home. 

Telecommuting is terrific

Yeah, of course telecommuting is awesome! You are at home in your pyjamas, doing your work, and getting paid a hefty pay cheque. Telecommuting reduces unnecessary office waste and also reduces pollution. If employees have the ability to work from home, and so do you, then telecommuting should be an option in order to avoid wastage. 

This reduces the use of petrol, all of the resources needed in a designated work place, and also reduces costs. Only the resources you usually use at home and a bit extra are used this way. You definitely save a lot and are doing the environment a favor in return. 

Let computers sleep

We have always said that computers do not require sleep and they don’t. However, you can save up to 70% of energy and avoid wasting it if you encourage yourself and all of your employees to put your computers on sleep mode when not in use automatically. 

This will make a substantial difference in conserving energy and probably also increase computer lifespan because of the less demanding screen brightness and performance during naptime.

Natural cleaning is cool

Cleaning the old fashion way with baking soda and vinegar may be the way to go. Of course, commercial products may appeal to you and many are available at amazingly low rates. However, try to stay natural rather than releasing such chemicals in the air. Refrain from aerosol sprays and try using natural air fresheners or something less polluting like potpourri. 

Organic coffee and tea is the order of the day

You need to keep your energy up and coffee or tea is a must-have for that. If you are purchasing coffee or tea, try organic local brands rather than conventional ones. They have less of an environmental impact and are healthy too. 

You can sip away all day without worrying about what you are doing to this world by doing so. 

Landfills do not need more plastic water bottles. Your office should have water dispensers and employees should have reusable water bottles or glass cups to use for water. Bottled water results in a lot of plastic landfill waste that is absolutely not needed and pretty soon, will be beyond handling. 

Ban bottled water in the office and set a penalty for it. Make sure you refrain from it too.

 If you follow these tips, and also ensure you buy affordable yet durable office furniture, you are well on your way to becoming a responsible citizen! Make sure you spread the message so everyone else does the same! 

 

This guest post was brought to you by Tess

Tess Cain likes cleaning and organisation. When she’s not working at office.eco, she’s dedicating herself to making her home and her neighborhood clean. Her hobbies include, writing, hiking and Yoga. Tess tries to give back to her community as much as she can by volunteering to help at shelters.

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