Why Should I Recycle?

So we’ve all heard about recycling and how everyone has a responsibility to recycle as much as possible.

But from a business perspective this can sometimes be costly in terms of both time and money.

So why should you invest in creating an ethos of recycling in your workplace?

We see many businesses now claim to be ethical and green but what does that really mean?

And how far do you have to go to be able to make that claim?

Recycling Facts

Let’s start with the reality – the reasons why recycling is important to the environment.  Here are some recycling facts:

  • Every 20 boxes of recycled paper you buy saves 17 trees, 7000 gallons of water and 4100kwh of energy
  • Recycled paper produces 73% less air pollution than paper made from raw materials
  • 60% of rubbish that goes in dustbins could be recycled
  • Glass is 100% recyclable yet most commonly ends up on landfill sites where it will never decompose
  • 1 recycled bottle could power a 60 watt light bulb for 3 hours

So that’s just some of the reasons why not only individual but businesses should recycle as much as possible.

But in reality is that possible?

Buying Recycled Paper

Recycled paper has a reputation for being an off-white colour and having a certain look about it but that’s no longer the case.

Recycled paper now comes in all shapes and sizes so can meet the needs of your business without compromising on quality.

But buying bright white paper should be avoided, whether it’s recycled or not.

Its bright white because its bleached – and bleach a toxic chemical linked to a whole host of health problems.

Getting into the habit of buying Recycled

The internationally recognised symbol for recycled or recyclable goods is a triable of arrows symbolising continuous recycling.

Any recycled goods will have this symbol on somewhere.

With paper, you want to look for the highest amount of post-consumer content.

This will be written somewhere on the paper as a percentage.

But beware, ‘environmentally friendly’ and recycled are not the same thing – this just means they way it is produced is environmentally friendly but not necessarily recycled.

What about other forms of waste?

reduce reuse recycle signBusinesses spend 4% of their turnover on managing waste.

Imagine if you could reduce this and at the same time become more corporately responsible.

There’s a simple process you can go through to help you reduce this cost:

  1. Eliminate – do you really need that in the first place?  Printing is often the biggest area you can eliminate – create a more paperless office environment, reducing paper wasted.
  2. Reduce – reduce the amount of waste you produce.  This can be done in many ways such as reducing printing, buying reusable containers or buying products with minimum amounts of packaging
  3. Re-use – So many business waste could be reused which reduces costs and reduces waste.  Items such as printer toners and cartridges, stationery supplies, boxes or furniture.  And if you can’t use an item again, look at who might be able to – there is likely to be someone who can make use of your unwanted items
  4. Recycle – Legislation is becoming increasingly tight on businesses, forcing them to recycle but this shouldn’t be seen as a bad thing.  Recycling as much as possible will decrease waste and decrease your businesses impact on the environment.
  5. Dispose – if none of the above are applicable, then dispose of the item, but first make sure you dispose of it correctly.

Local Waste Management

There are many local waste management businesses who will be able to advise you on what you can and cannot recycle and they will be able to work with you to bring in a recycling scheme into the workplace.

They will be able to provide you with bins suitable to your recycling needs and pick up recyclable materials at convenient times.

 

Recycling isn’t something that is initiated by just one person – every single staff member needs to be on board. 

An environmentally friendly ethos needs to be instilled in a workplace, and this can take time. 

Don’t make it a chore for people to have to recycle.  Instead, get staff involved in the decisions you make about recycling, and ask them where they see the biggest areas of waste – you will often find they can see big areas of wastage that you can’t.

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Comments (2)

  • Nowadays, we are already experiencing disasters which are the effects of our maltreatment with nature. But it is never too late to learn from our mistake. Recycling is one way to help in preserving our natural resources and our mother nature.

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