Many businesses these days are taking steps to reduce their impact on the environment, often saving a lot of money in the process. There are tons of ways to go green at your workplace – many more than can be covered here. But to get you started, here are four quick and easy ways to reduce waste that requires little effort and expense on your part.
- Recycle Trash in the Break Room
When trying to reduce waste in the workplace, recycling is one of the easiest ways to start. And the easiest place to begin recycling is with the trash in the employee break room and elsewhere around the workplace.
Put out separate receptacles for plastic bottles, glass, aluminum, and regular trash.
Some cities even have recycling programs where they pick everything up monthly or weekly, so you don’t have to have an employee transport everything to the recycling center.
- Recycle or Reuse Cardboard Boxes
Most offices can recycle plenty of items from their break room, but another item that is often overlooked is cardboard.
Warehouses and restaurants tend to have a lot of recyclable cardboard, but many offices also have some cardboard waste from incoming supplies such as cases of computer paper, pens, pencils, bathroom supplies, and other items.
- Reuse Old Printouts for Scratch Paper
Many offices print out dozens or even hundreds of pages of documents per day. While many of those documents go out as invoices and correspondence or end up being stored in files, many documents get looked at once or twice and can then be thrown away at the end of the week or the end of the month. Sensitive documents get shredded, but others get tossed in the trash.
As an alternative, these sheets can be cut into half sheets or quarter sheets, bound together, and reused for notepads and memos.
- Use Ink and Toner Cartridges Efficiently
Many printer ink cartridges these days have built-in sensors that alert you when they are low on ink. Many of them will simply no longer function until you replace them. However, those sensors are not 100% accurate. In most cases, the sensor can be removed or reset, allowing you to print out dozens of additional pages before running dry.
When empty, don’t just dump them. Many ink cartridges and printer toner cartridges can be recycled too.
If your company is interested in making a more serious commitment to go green, reduce waste and conserve resources, look into financing options with DAL Commercial Capital.
