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While “going green” may not be as trendy as it once was, it is a good practice for your business. Many of these practices can not only help the environment a little bit, but also help you save on your bottom line.
Reduce and Reuse
Some may not consider plastics to be earth-friendly because of the way they are made, however, with certain business supplies plastic might have the advantage. For instance, you can purchase paper file folders that have a percentage of post-consumer waste in them, but unless you also recycle those when they’ve served their purpose, they will likely end up in the landfill as opposed to another file cabinet. As an alternative, you can purchase plastic file folders that can be reused over and over again, simply by using peel off labels on them. Three-ring binders are another product that can be re-purposed many times before their usefulness comes to an end. These can be purchased at almost all the larger office supply stores. Such items like staplers, scissors, drawer and file organizers, tape dispensers and more can all be purchased recycled and serve you for a long time. Try the Recycled Products Cooperative at http://www.recycledproducts.org as a source for all your recycled office needs.
Rethink
Many offices now are going paperless. That is, they’re forgoing all the usual forms of paper creation such as memos, faxing, invoicing, etc. All these things can be done via electronic means now. A paper-driven office can enjoy more organization as well as less waste by converting to electronic files.
Repurpose
Does your office receive magazine subscriptions? If so, what do you do with the magazines once everyone has read them? I happened to find a great little article on different ways to reuse magazines here: http://stylecaster.com/cool-things-to-make-with-old-magazines/
Recycle
Just about every town has some sort of recycling program for items such as paper, plastic, aluminum and glass. Recycling at your place of business might seem like a hassle, but consider the advantages of recycling:
- Saves on natural resources
- Reduces landfill waste
- Saves energy (it takes less energy to make recycled products than it does new ones)
Another thing to try is to rotate recycling responsibilities in a company. Each week designate a different person to take on the duties. Finally, try calling your waste management company to see if they already offer a recycling program for your area.