You know that recycling is important–and chances are, your company recognizes it, too. Unfortunately, getting started with a great recycling program can be time-consuming and frustrating. If recycling isn’t part of your office culture, there are several reasons you haven’t made the switch.
1. You haven’t talked to key stakeholders. In many cases, the move to creating a recycling-friendly culture is as simple as talking to the right people. When you approach key stakeholders, discuss the reasons why recycling is beneficial, not just for the environment, but for the company as a whole.
2. You aren’t clearly communicating the goals of the program. What does your recycling program hope to accomplish? Is your goal to reduce waste across the company, or simply to reduce the amount of paper or cardboard that gets thrown away? Do you have a competition in place between shifts? Make sure that you’re communicating these goals to the entire company in order to get them on board with the switch.
3. Employees don’t have any reason to care. It’s just as easy for them to toss their waste in a trash can as it is to recycle it–or perhaps easier! Having a competition or announcing company-wide goals and celebrating milestones will help get them more engaged with your recycling program, encouraging them to commit to recycling where possible.
4. Your trash cans are too big. Large deskside waste bins make it easy for employees to throw away whatever they like–and can prevent them from noticing smaller recycling bins. Instead, use smaller deskside bins, which will limit the amount that employees across the company can throw away and make them rethink how much waste they create.
5. Recycling bins are inconvenient or inaccessible. Most employees don’t have time throughout their busy days to hunt down a recycling bin across the company. When recycling bins are just as accessible as trash cans, however, your employees will be much more likely to use them!
Transitioning your company culture to include a policy of regularly recycling takes time, but it’s well worth the effort! Over time, you can substantially reduce the waste your company puts forth every day. When everyone pitches in and works together, you’ll quickly discover that you can make a big impact.
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