How to Start a Waste-Free Workplace Initiative
Transform Your Office Into a Green Organization
Dec 2, 2008
Whether it's non-recycled paper to plastic or Styrofoam cups during meetings, the average office generates non-recyclable waste. While some offices are making motions towards conserving energy, so much more can be done to prevent corporate landfill waste.
Start a Workplace Green Team
Organize a small group of coworkers who can see what the office uses and how items are bought and disposed of. There is more to having a green office than buying energy-efficient copiers and monitors.
A few years ago, the “Lights Out” campaign began, which urged offices to turns out the lights after the last late worker leaves. A similar movement can make great ecological changes with the following steps.
Easy Steps to Take to Make Any Office Green
- Take note of what office supplies are in daily use: recycled paper is getting more affordable, and many offices may even be eligible for a green grant if they adhere to greening movements.
- Ban styrofoam, plastic cutlery and stir-sticks from your office. Make an event of out this change; offer free coffee or tea.
- If some object to bringing their own mugs, look into seeing how much it would cost to buy and store several mugs with the company’s logo in the office kitchen.
- Invest in some phosphate-free, environmentally safe detergent for the office kitchen.
- Start a battery recycling and ink-toner recycling bin. Batteries, cell phones and ink cartridges can now be recycled at many locations throughout Canada, such as Wal-Mart, The Source and Grand and Toy.
- Arrange for more recycling bins to be placed in communal areas, like the lobby, the cafeteria, the kitchen or even individual desks. They don’t have to be “official” blue bins, as long as they are easy-to-clean receptacles that send the message that it’s only to be used for paper, metal or glass.
- Have management commit to using email for official memos. While we can’t expect signature-required documents to be banned, day-to-day memos and messages sent by email will save on ink toner, paper and electricity.
- Consider soy-based ink cartridges, or have the office buy recyclable ink cartridges; they cost 75% less than disposable ones and a single recyclable ink cartridge can save up to three quarts of oil.
- Send packages in cornstarch-based packing chips instead of Styrofoam packing peanuts.
Green Solutions for the Problem Office
- Make a fun event out of starting a Green Team; launch a party, or have an environmental film shown during scheduled lunch time.
- Offer prizes for the department with the lowest carbon footprint.
- Assign Green Team monitors to check to see that garbage isn’t dumped into the recycling bins. Take note of what ‘problem items’ repeatedly appear; send out a friendly reminder of what constitutes recyclable material. Also, find out if bins are missing.
- When ordering take-out or large orders for the office, ask for recyclable materials – no Styrofoam or plastic containers.
A real motivator may be in found in signing up the office for a cash prize in several environmental awards; search for a local or federal competition that offers cash prizes or public awards.
Added benefits would be the positive PR spun from being an environmentally caring workplace, as well as generating name recognition for the workplace. Free publicity is one thing, but positive free publicity is that much better!
The Purpose of a Corporate Green Team
The team should not be militant guerrillas who leap out from behind recycling bins to bark orders. The focus should be about communicating and making changes.
Have the green team be the voice for petitions to recycle previous non-recyclable items, or work together to arrange for carpooling. Have fun with the team, and use positive reinforcement wherever possible!
