There are major concerns about the vast amount of material being sent to local landfills – that is no secret. With the ever rising threat of global warming now hard to ignore, it has become vital that each and every one of us take on a personal responsibility to reduce waste and recycle everything we possibly can.
Much like charity, personal waste management and recycling efforts must start at home. But what if we were to tell you offices contribute to a large percentage of waste, without any real need to do so?
If you care about the planet then it is likely you’ll want to reduce your environmental impact in the office too, which is why we’ve compiled this list of eight small and simple ways you can reduce your waste while at work:
1. Always use both sides of a piece of paper
Whether you’re printing, drawing or writing, it’s always best to make use of both sides of the paper where you can. Use up as much space as possible to ensure you don’t over-use or waste valuable supplies (yes, valuable!).
2. Amend margin settings when printing
Microsoft Word and printers in general tend to be set-up with large margins but you can adjust this to ensure you use up as much white space as possible and therefore reduce the amount of paper you use up, without comprising on the quantity of information included.
3. Avoid printing mistakes – preview before you press
“I’ll just hit print to see how this looks” is not the way to go about previewing your work before you submit it, especially if you care about the very real threat of global warming. To avoid mistakes before printing a finished piece preview it on your computer and/or get a second eye on it for peace of mind.
4. Print in black and white (or draft mode)
Colour printing uses far more ink than sometimes necessary, so a good way to reduce your office waste is to only print in black and white when you can. Simply change the settings in Print Preview, or better yet, print in draft mode to conserve even more ink! Draft mode will lighten the shade ever-so slightly but is still very readable.
5. Purchase recycled ink and toner
Landfills release huge amounts of harmful gasses into the environment, so the less we can send there the better. Cartridges are one of many plastics that end up in landfills but purchasing recycled ink and toner certainly contributes to alleviating this environmental burden.
6. Cycle or walk to work
Transportation is another environmental burden and if you can reduce carbon emissions simply by commuting to work via bike then it’s something we highly suggest you do. If you reside just a short distance from your workplace walking is another simple way to shrink your carbon footprint. Otherwise, carpooling with co-workers could be a suitable solution.
7. Replace paper towels and kitchen roll with hand towels and tea towels
Whether you are an employee or employer, you have the ability to encourage the reduction of paper waste – be it through suggestion or transformation. Start by providing and/or using hand towels and tea towels instead of paper towels and kitchen roll… even if you have to bring in your own! It may seem like more effort but it is a worthy cause and can save businesses a lot of money.
8. Reuse scrap paper instead of post-it notes
Again, reducing waste wherever possible has quickly become the responsibility of us all and therefore, we can no longer afford to chuck away scrap paper just to buy more paper. Use what you can. Ditch “pretty” (overpriced) post-it notes.
What do you do to reduce your office waste? Let us know by tweeting to @BroadGroupLtd and don’t forget to hit share if you enjoyed this post to pass the information onto your friends and family!
