Office waste reduction – Enhances profitability and promotes greener environment:

Office waste reduction – Enhances profitability and promotes greener environment:

Most offices have potential to reduce the volume of waste generated, or establish better uses for the waste they produce. Office waste minimization schemes are relatively simple to implement and can result in cost savings through the reduction of materials consumption and in waste disposal costs.

A. The best way to reduce office waste is not to produce it in the first place. Before making a purchase, ask yourself if you need to buy the goods or materials, or if you are buying more than you need. Minimize the amount of waste you produce. This can be done by using items as many times as possible and recycling what you can after items have been reused. This will enable you to make significant savings on waste disposal costs and reduce your business' impact on the environment.

B. Office waste management helps you green your operations and reduce costs from paper, equipment, fertilizer, cleansers and more. Some of the suggestions for promoting better office waste management and promoting greener environment:

(a) Reduce Packaging. Ask suppliers to use less heavily packaged products or ask them to take away excess packaging when they deliver. Select products from suppliers and manufactures that use minimal packaging.

(b) Reuse or recycle paper, printer toner and ink cartridges you would normally throw away.

(c) Change your printers' settings to print in double-sided format.

(d) Cancel junk mail and unwanted publications - contact the sender directly and ask them to remove you from their mailing list.

(e) Use electronic communication where possible to reduce printing and faxing - encourage staff not to print out documents and emails unless absolutely necessary;

(f) Reuse paper that has only been printed on one side for draft or scrap message pads;

(g) Reuse envelopes if possible, for example to send internal mail;

(h) Look for the type and the amount of recycled content in anything that you buy;

(i) Intersperse regular use of strong cleaners and solvents with less toxic and water based cleaners - everything from process machinery to toilets needs to be cleaned occasionally, but if you clean regularly, you don't need to use the strongest chemicals known to humankind each and every time. A growing practice is to use the strong stuff about every fourth time, and use milder alternatives in between.

(j) Donate surplus card or colored paper to your local school or nursery.

(k) Publicize your waste prevention efforts. In brochures and advertisements that you print, discretely display a small paragraph somewhere that tactfully boasts of your office waste prevention practices. Many of your clients will be favorably impressed.

(l) Educate your fellow employees about your green and sustainable systems and policies.

C. Setting up a paper recycling scheme in the office:

(a) Let staff know the benefits of waste management and the consequences of poor practices. For example, by recycling paper waste the overall costs of waste disposal are decreased.

(b) Position containers or storage boxes in easily accessible locations; e.g. next to photocopier or printer.

(c) Label paper waste containers or use special containers provided by the paper recycling company collecting the waste.

(d) Allocate storage space for full paper waste containers until collection takes place.

(e) Don't forget to tell the cleaners that there is a paper recycling scheme in place and that segregated paper should not be disposed of as general waste.

(f) Monitor progress and provide feedback to staff on the success (or lack of success) of the scheme.

D. In addition, ensure that you do not leave lights, heating and equipment on unnecessarily. This adds significant costs to your business. Avoid wasting water as this can also lead to significant extra costs for your business.In other words, office waste is both an environmental burden and cost for companies. You can easily reduce your office costs by putting key systems in place to save materials and recycle, reduce and reuse everything from paper to worm castings!