Category: Green Living

There are 4 ways in which you can kickstart a recycling trend in your work place. If a business wants to initiate a recycling campaign, it has more success of succeeding if it comes form the top. It should be seen as an overall policy that is actively encouraged by management. Highlight the benefits of recycling at work to your colleagues and bosses.

1)    Benefits to your business

• It’s easy to set up and run
• It saves space and can reduce clutter
• It’s cost effective and can save your company money
• It reduces waste going to landfill, saves energy and helps tackle climate change
• People also like to be able to recycle at work as they can at home.

2)    Find a local recycling service provider

• Find a local recycling service provider in your area and crate a list of companies who can fulfil your waste material needs

3)    Setting up a recycling scheme

To ensure that everyone is aware of the recycling scheme, you may want to consider:

• Hosting a recycling day or event to launch the new recycling scheme to employees. For example, hold a desk recycling amnesty to encourage staff to recycle as much as they can from their desks.
• Train staff to recognise and understand the different materials that can and cannot be included in your recycling collection
• Put a list or poster above your recycling containers identifying what can be recycled to make sure that correct items are being recycled in the correct way.
• Position containers in a convenient location to make it as easy to recycle items as it is to throw them away
• For posters to promote your recycling scheme, visit www.recyclenowpartners.org.uk

4) What else can you do?

• Save paper by only printing out what you really need. Also print double sided so less paper is wasted.
• Re-use scrap paper for notes
• Help charities by recycling a work. Many of them will be delighted to collect your old mobile phones, computer equipment, stamps and printer cartridges. These can all raise funds for charities.
• If your company is interested in taking further environmental measures, visit the Carbon Trust website at http://www.carbontrust.co.uk/solutions/

Source: www.recyclenow.com

UK households produced 30.5 million tonnes of waste in 2003/04, of which 17% was collected for recycling. (source: defra.gov.uk) This figure is still quite low compared to some of our neighbouring EU countries, some recycling over 50% of their waste. There is still a great deal of waste which could be recycled that ends up in landfill sites which is harmful to the environment.

Recycling is a tremendous way of conserving energy and helping the environment.
Some interesting facts that may make you change your waste disposal habits

Did you know that:

• 1 recycled plastic bottle would save enough energy to power a 60-watt light bulb for 3 hours
• 1 recycled tin can would save enough energy to power a television for 3 hours.
• 70% less energy is required to recycle paper compared with making it from raw materials.
• 1 recycled glass bottle would save enough energy to power a computer for 25 minutes.

Some Interesting Facts

• Up to 60% of the rubbish that ends up in the dustbin could be recycled.
• The unreleased energy contained in the average dustbin each year could power a television for 5,000 hours.
• The largest lake in the Britain could be filled with rubbish from the UK in 8 months.
• On average, 16% of the money you spend on a product pays for the packaging, which ultimately ends up as rubbish.
• As much as 50% of waste in the average dustbin could be composted.
• Up to 80% of a vehicle can be recycled.
• 9 out of 10 people would recycle more if it were made easier.

For more information on recycling visit: http://www.recycling-guide.org.uk/facts.html. It’s a fantastic site full of useful and interesting information.

Source: www.recycling-guide.org.uk