Be Captain Planet at the workplace – Saying no to plastic!

You know our planet is in deep trouble when it’s predicted that our oceans will have more plastic than fish by 2050.

Unilever has pledged to make all its plastic packaging reusable by 2025 while M&S plans on developing one recyclable plastic polymer for all packaging uses.

Inspired? How about implementing this zero waste strategy in your own workplace? Becoming an eco-friendly organization isn’t tough.

Let’s explore how to begin.

Ban plastic bottles!

This might seem like an idea on the extreme side. However, these facts prove why you should say good-bye to plastic bottles:

• Almost 50% of the used plastic is discarded after using it just once.
• An average American throws 185 pounds of plastic a year.

How to do it: Customers have a more favorable attitude towards businesses that practice Corporate Social Responsibility. Besides this, banning plastic and going green may help you gain PR traction. You can do this by getting EPA business grant in which the only requirement is to open a business in a green manner.

Recycle plastic

If banning plastic is not possible, a more plausible alternative can be recycling it. By reducing plastic pollution, you’ll be able to save 7.4 cubic yards of landfills. In addition, recycling plastic reduces the amount of water, petroleum, and natural resources needed in creating new plastic.

How to do it: There are grocery stores and private organizations that work towards collecting plastics from various drop-off locations.

You can install recycling containers in the office break room. These organizations will come to collect plastic trash from these containers.

Introduce refillable water bottles at the workplace

Bottled water leads to 1.5 million tons of plastic waste each year. There’s more. These bottles also require 47 million gallons of oil for production. Organizations can play a pivotal role in reducing plastic waste worldwide by banning plastic bottles.

How to do it: You can provide refillable water bottles to your employees. These can be glass bottles or stainless-steel water bottles which are durable and last for years to come.

A better idea would be to get the bottles imprinted with company logo for PR and marketing. Two birds with one stone!

Say ‘no’ to disposable cutlery

In the rushed and time-pressed environment of the office, no one gives a second thought about the consequences of using disposable spoons, forks, and mugs. They are used for a few minutes but can stay in the environment for months and even years to come.

How to do it: Inexpensive stainless-steel cutlery can be bought and kept in the office. Another option is to buy ceramic or glass plates and replace disposable cups by ceramic mugs (imprinted with logo).

Though it may take time in adjusting from disposable to ceramic or glass cutlery, implementing this change is worth it.

Reuse plastic

Some plastic material such as ink cartridges can easily be reused. This has a positive impact not only on the environment but also on your company’s budget. All the material used in ink cartridges can be reused.

How to do it: Your organization can get in touch with companies that refill ink cartridges. In fact, if the business is big and requires bulk refilling, it can sign a contract for reducing refilling charges. This creates less plastic wastage.

You can keep refilling cartridges throughout their lifespan. When a cartridge is no longer usable, recycle it.

Wrapping it Up

The options for Corporate Social Responsibility are endless. It’s up to you to make the best use of these options and play your part in reducing plastic pollution. So, which initiative are you going to start off with to reduce plastic waste in your workplace?!