Environmentally Friendly Ways to Recycle Unwanted Papers

Recycling is one of the simplest and most effective ways to achieving a sustainable environment. We find ourselves accumulating piles of unwanted paper, and more often than not, it’s at our office workplaces. Here are some ways to dispose of those unwanted papers in an environmentally friendly way.

Office Recycling Bin

Think about one of the most common places that unwanted papers accumulate. It’s most likely your office work space! Often, office employees have stacks of paper accumulating on their desk, and it’s these same papers thrown into an un-orderly pile that are probably never going to be looked at again.

The most convenient way to get rid of them is to have an office recycling bin, or multiple bins if you work in a large office space. The most sensible places to put these bins are next to the photocopiers and printers. It’s also sensible for each employee to have a small recycling bin under their desk.

Office recycling bins give employees an easy, central point to dispose of all of their unwanted papers. Having enough bins and placing them in convenient spots, allows you to dispose of the papers straight away. This is a very simple way to encourage an easy transition into a more environmentally friendly workplace.

Not only is this beneficial to the environment, it creates a far more tidy and productive work space for people.

Secure Document Destruction Service

Depending on the nature of the business, some companies must safely store and sometimes, destroy confidential documents. Often, the most convenient way to achieve this is to go straight to your waste management company for a secure document destruction solution.

Not only will the waste management company know how to destroy the unwanted documents without breaching confidentiality, they will also ensure that it is done so in an environmentally friendly manner. As this process takes a little bit more consideration than regular recycling, it’s helpful to know that your waste management company can handle it all for you.

Secure document destruction solutions can come in a variety of container sizes depending on your business’ needs. Additionally, this solution is especially useful if you have too many documents to simply be shredded.

• Shred it

Using a shredder is another effective way to recycle unwanted papers. Firstly, shredders are useful to destroy confidential documents, considering you don’t have many to get rid of and a complete secure document destruction solution isn’t necessary.

However, there are also many other efficient ways to make use of unwanted shredded paper in the workplace. If your business ships goods from a warehouse, consider replacing your packaging material or void filler with the shredded paper accumulated in the office. Reusing this paper allows your business to save resources and reduce waste. Not to mention that the shredded paper is likely to be a more environmentally friendly void filler than your existing one, such as foam or pieces of polystyrene void filler.

• Donate it

Shredding and reusing unwanted papers is still effective even if you can’t find a use for it in your workplace. That’s because there are many more creative ways to use it. Rather than going straight in the recycling bin, shredded paper can be donated to people who could make use of it, to help reduce overall waste. For example, shredded paper can be used by people who are moving houses, to help pack and move items safely. It can also be used as mulch for those who enjoy gardening. Another alternative is for it to be donated to your local op shop and used as packaging for fragile items such as glassware. Instead of recycling unwanted papers straight away, consider what other uses shredded paper could be effective for.

• Use less paper

A big part of being sustainable is saving resources or getting the best use of out them so that they’re not going to waste. Using less paper to begin with, reduces the need to recycle as much.

A simple way to achieve this in the workplace by printing and photocopying on both sides of the paper when documents have multiple pages. This reduces your paper consumption by half - a simple, yet significant solution.

Outdoor recycling containers

Many workplaces consider outdoor recycling containers a highly effective way to recycle documents. Offices can allocate a staff member at the end of each day to be responsible for collecting the recycling bins and disposing of them in the outdoor containers. However, this can also be done by the office cleaner.

Bulk waste removal has many benefits, including the reduced number of collection frequencies. On a side note, this also reduces transport emission from the collection trucks, making this an even more environmentally friendly solution.

Waste management businesses offer a variety of sizes for both front and rear bins, as well are flexible collection frequencies.

Co-mingled recycling

Another efficient way to recycle unwanted papers is to use a co-mingling solution. Co-mingled recycling is a solution that allows you to mix paper with other recyclables, such as bottles, cans, cartons, cardboard and certain types of plastics.

Some people consider this a far more cost-effective and easier recycling method, to encourage an eco friendly waste solution.

At Nationwide Waste Solutions, we offer recycling solutions to suit your needs, including office bins, secure document destruction, co-mingled recycling bins, and bulk waste removal. For more information about how we can help conveniently encourage your business to be more environmentally friendly, call us at 1300 729 922 or contact us here.

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6 Easy Ideas to Reduce Office Waste

In today’s society, corporate social responsibility is a standard business practice. Often, these efforts include implementing eco-friendly policies into the workplace. Most businesses prioritise reducing their carbon footprint. Not only does this help save the environment, but it also makes businesses appear more favourable to an environmentally aware consumer base. Regardless of the reason for doing so, introducing eco-friendly practices in the workplace is a crucial as ever. For businesses only just introducing such practices, it is best to start small. In fact, there are a number of basic practices that can have a great impact on the environment in the long-run.

Here are 6 easy ways to reduce waste in the office.

1.          Keep a bin within an arm’s reach

There’s no doubt that the easiest way to protect the environment is to recycle, especially in a workplace where paper makes up most of the waste. Be sure to equip your office with an adequate amount of recycling bins. This includes placing small bins under each desk, so that it’s within an arm’s reach, as well as providing a larger, centralised bin in the office.

Having a recycling bin within an arm’s reach of each employee simply makes it more convenient to dispose of waste instantly, without compromising on productivity by wasting work time. It’s likely that office staff will go through piles of paper each day, and makes it easier to dispose of unwanted documents.

2. Print smarter

Recycling is essential, and printing smarter allows your office to produce less waste. Most businesses are aiming to go paperless. This is a reasonable option, considering that most documents can be stored digitally now.

Encourage your staff to print only the most necessary documents. Before doing so, edit each document digitally, to avoid printing unnecessary copies.

For documents that must be printed, be sure to set your printing default to double sided. Some official documents may require specific margins, however where possible, use narrower margins and spacing. Not only does this save paper, but it also save ink costs.

3. Reuse office supplies

‘Reduce, reuse, recycle’ is a slogan that has been embedded into the memory of the Australian public for as long as I can remember. It’s simple, but effective.

A great way to reduce office waste is to reuse folders, binders and other office supplies each year. Get into the habit of not throwing away supplies until they are absolutely of no use (in other words, broken).

It’s helpful to keep an organised cupboard of supplies that may be needed in the future, even if they’re not being used at the moment.

Again, this tip reduces both waste and office expenses.

4. Gift employees with reusable coffee cups and water bottles

Although paper is probably the most common waste in an office but it’s not the only type. Think about other ways that your employees produce waste at work, even if it isn’t directly linked to work.

It’s likely that your staff will bring a drink bottle to work or have a cup of coffee each morning. Encourage your staff to use reusable bottles and coffee cups by setting an example yourself. These products make excellent corporate gifts to give to your employees especially at Christmas. Staff can show off these products customised with your company logo.

Encouraging simple eco-friendly practices in the workplace is a sure way to have an influence on your employees, even outside of work. This can cause a small but significant rippling effect, which will have a positive impact on the environment.

5. Use real dishes in the office kitchen

Similarly, you can use real dishes in the office kitchen, either by providing some or encouraging staff to bring some. This tip is especially useful for workplace parties, when you would normally use disposable plates and cutlery.

Since disposable dishes get dirty with food, they’re harder (or sometimes impossible) to recycle. So rather than producing recycled waste, they’re likely to produce an abundance of general waste. Although a basic tip, it is sure to increase your businesses environmental awareness.

At Nationwide Waste Solutions, we provide recycling and general waste services, including office recycling bins and office rubbish removal. To enquire, call us on 1300 729 922 or contact us here.

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