Want to Increase Office Recycling? Here Are Your First 7 Steps

Businesses, government agencies, and institutions across the globe are adopting recycling programs in an attempt to promote environmental conservation. These workplaces use a lot of paper and other items that could cause major environmental pollution if disposed of improperly. Check out these seven tips to start a recycling program at work.

1. Make a commitment

Recycling is mostly a volunteer initiative taken up by an individual. As such, you have to come up with a series of steps to encourage recycling at work. Carrying out such a program may not be in your job description, which means that you need to remain committed and self-motivated to fulfilling this responsibility.

2. Get a recycling team together

To properly manage the waste and recyclables at your workplace, you need help from other colleagues. The first step is to contact all departments to identify the employees who are passionate about environmental conservation through recycling. If you concentrate on a single department, chances are that you will not tackle recycling across the board. You need a representative from every department whose responsibility will be to manage, coordinate, and implement the set recycling goals. The employees chosen will also train other employees and help them adopt the best recycling methods.

3. Come up with a plan

Create a plan by identifying the recyclable materials your company uses the most. Here, you have to consult your recycling agency to determine the materials that can be disposed of by recycling. Moreover, you need to develop a schedule for the collection of the waste and a duty plan displaying whose responsibility this is.

4. Educate and engage

You should consider informing the employees about the importance of recycling by highlighting its benefits. Further, involve them through engagement by reviewing the goals you would like the initiative to achieve and analyzing the recyclables in the company. Label the recycling bins with colorful words in an attempt to capture the attention of all the employees. You might consider setting up recycling competition among departments to keep the employees motivated towards implementing the program effectively.

5. Make recycling simple

To launch and implement the recycling program better, have small bins in areas with minimal recyclables and bigger ones in places like the copy room, near the vending machine, and break room where employees will deal with more recyclables. This gives the employees easier access to the bins. Moreover, avoid using small recycling bins that make recycling difficult. Make sure the employees can easily distinguish between the garbage and recycling bins. This will avoid confusion so that the intended recyclables do not end up in the garbage bin.

6. Recognize success and achievements

Employees are more committed to their responsibilities when they see their actions recognized and realize that their actions have made a positive impact. As such, conduct a waste management audit to help announce the recycling successes that the company has achieved and praise the employees that have contributed towards fulfilling the set goals.

Consider sending all employees emails defining the benefits of the recycling program and outlining the milestones that the company has reached in attaining them. Include a page on your website or newsletter where you can publish these successes to share with the media, clients, as well as stakeholders. This move will go a long way in encouraging other institutions to implement the recycling initiative.

7. Purchase recycled items

Recycling in the workplace is a great way to improve the company’s sustainability footprint. You, therefore, want your employees to keep working towards the set goals. To keep them motivated towards this program, buy recycled products to show the employees the actual benefits of the initiative.

Follow the above tips for recycling at work because they will ensure your success at planning, implementing, and starting a recycling program at work. Be creative to keep the employees motivated and make the whole process simple and fun.