Ways To Whittle Down Waste At Home And At Work

Colleges have quickly learned the benefits of reducing their garbage bill by using recycling bins. Communities and businesses are trying to find their own ways to cut down on the amount of waste generated due to the high cost of collecting, transporting and disposing of garbage. There are several ways you can cut down on the amount of garbage thrown out at home and at work with the simple and effective use of recycling bins. The first step however is to determine just how much of your garbage is actually trash and how much of it is recyclable materials.

Time For A Trash Audit

A trash audit is a simple act that you can do at home. Basically, it consists of sorting through your trash to see how much recyclable materials you are currently throwing into your neighborhood landfill. Most people are stunned when they realize the extent of their past wastefulness. As garbage rates continue to rise, it becomes even more cost effective to recycle whatever you can. Simply placing recycling containers next to trash cans and educating family members may be all the effort that is required to create a successful recycling program in your home.

Businesses can use their local recycling service to conduct a trash audit. Offices, manufacturers and service companies produce volumes of recyclable materials that have been historically thrown into landfills, resulting in toxic air, soil, and water supplies. A trash audit provides business owners and managers with the financial numbers they need to make effective decisions about how many bins for recycling they will need for their facility.

Special Tips For Reducing Waste

At home, you can reduce much of your paper waste by cancelling unwanted subscriptions and reusing the backs of documents for things like shopping lists and to-do notes. When shopping, opt for minimal packaging and bigger quantities of frequently purchased items. Placing recycling bins where they are most needed, such as next to a desk and in the kitchen can increase their likelihood of being used.

Businesses can use the same basic rational by placing bins for recycling where they are most needed: in employee break rooms, near printers, under desks, near vending machines and near any manufacturing processes that generate recyclable materials. These simple steps can turn into a landslide of savings, both financial and environmental.

Back In The Black

In today’s troubled economy, homes and businesses are operating on the brink of financial disaster. Every area where money can be saved is worth consideration. Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle installed recycling bins and was then delighted to discover that they were able to reduce their contribution to the landfill by 80% and that they saved themselves over $170,000 in the first year of the program. Those are some substantial numbers.

Today’s recycling bins are clearly labeled with which recyclables go where, or if it is a single stream service, all types of recyclable materials can be deposited into the same container. Recycling today makes sense, and best of all saves a lot of money.