Effective Ways to Recycle Waste in Commercial Buildings
In the past, office parks and towers were built to maximize productivity in the workforce that occupied them. First forward, to today and you’ll see a significant shift in the corporate culture among big business firms. Environmental compliance laws have forced a shift to more sustainable waste management practices.
Your business shouldn’t be left behind this wave of corporate responsibility. Identifying, let alone solving waste management issues can be challenging. Here is a list of ways to identify and remedy your waste management problems through recycling.
Challenging your staff’s Mindset
People often have a hard time adapting to new ideas and letting go of old habits. To most people, all trash bins should take in the same ways regardless of the label. However, making recycling easier can help you challenge such stubborn habits.
Paper waste is the most common item of trash in commercial buildings. One effective way to address this challenge is to ensure there’s a paper recycling bin next to every employee’s desk. With time and repeated use, your employees’ Mindset towards recycling will change. They’ll realize how easy recycling is and practice it everywhere in their lives.
Educating staff on recycling
Some of your staff might love the idea of recycling to help their building hit waste management targets. But, they might not know how to do it in an environmentally friendly manner. You can help such member employees by educating them on how to recycle all kinds of waste. Here are a few ideas you can try out:
- Affix proper signage on waste bins. Posters can also go on prominent locations around the bins.
- Appoint a mobilizer/enforcer. This can be any member of staff that’s passionate about recycling. Such an employee can champion recycling and environmental issues as well as educate his/her peers.
- Avail the latest waste management reports to staff members. This informs all the employees on your recycling targets and any progress you have made towards attaining them.
Incentivize recycling practices
Rewarding excellent performance is one of the best ways to encourage better results in members of staff. You can take a similar approach to encourage them to recycle. Citation and reward programs are an excellent way to get the ball rolling.
You can also host workshops and educational events to foster more awareness of your recycling system. Such events don’t have to be drab boardroom affairs. They can even do picnics to make them as fun and interactive as possible.
Proper Positioning Of Recycle Bins
Most offices have few recycle bins that are in inconvenient locations. Your employees are more likely to use the general waste bin if it is easier to locate than the appropriate bin. This is easy to remedy by placing bins in easy to access areas.
Paper waste bins can be situated anywhere in the office that they don’t restrict movement. Glass and metal bins also don’t present a challenge. However, a lot of care and deliberation should go into positioning your food waste bins. Always ensure they are as far from workstations as possible, and they are emptied every day.