How To Start A Zero Waste Office Program

More and more businesses are beginning to seriously look at reducing the waste that they generate on a daily, monthly, and yearly basis. Not all of these companies are considering this strictly for environmental purposes, though that’s certainly at least part of the motivation for some. Many companies are now considering moving to a “zero waste office” program because such a move may also save money and time, as well as increase efficiency. If your company is thinking of doing this, there are a few things you can do to get the ball rolling on the process.

Audit & Evaluate Your Waste Generation

The first step to reducing waste is finding out exactly how much of it is created, where the waste is coming from, and how the waste is being generated. A typical office, for example, may contribute up to two pounds of waste paper, per employee.

Be honest and unflinching about where the waste is coming from. This will require a team effort, not just from employees, but management as well. This will not only give you an understanding how much waste your company is generating, but also it may inadvertently show you inefficiencies in your working process.

Integrate Recycling Policies

This is absolutely essential to any zero waste office program. Products such as paper, plastic, and even leftover food can be put towards recycling or composting programs, instead of simply left in the trash. You need to look at what your municipal recycling programs are—if there are any—and find ways to incorporate this into your office.

This also means you should think about organizing your recycling efforts and making them both accessible and sensible for employees. An easy-to-understand recycling bin program where papers can go, another for plastics, and still another for any leftover food, for example, can go a long way towards reducing garbage in your company.

Upgrade To An Electronic Content Management System

This is definitely a more expensive and large-scale waste reduction decision, but it has significant benefits for a company. Since the generation of documents—and the need for copies—makes up the bulk of many companies’ waste generation, transitioning to a digital system can make a big difference.

With the proper ECM in place, all documents can be accessed online, whether by computer or even smartphone. Changes to said documents can be made online, with no “paper trail” required to keep track of who has done or read what, since it’s all documented on the ECM. This not only reduces paper, but it has the substantial side-effect of considerably cutting down on time and cost while increasing efficiency.

Get Organized With Your Waste Management

If you’re going to get serious about a zero waste office program, do it the right way. Don’t just grab office trash baskets and put labels on them hoping to get the job done. Proper containers for different types of recyclables, with sufficient capacity and color-coding or shapes, make things easier to organize. Waste Wise has years of experience helping commercial operations with their waste management needs. If you need help with your program, we can give it to you!