Easy Guide on Getting Started with Office Recycling
For any business recycling strategy to be effective, you’ll need to get your staff fully on board. Even if you find a great company who specialises in recycling for offices, it is the people who work for you on a daily basis that make all the difference, and it can often prove to be tricky getting their support.
The following guide will outline the steps you need to take as a company owner to get your staff into the ‘Green’ swing of things.
Clear Guidelines
Getting staff to maximise recycling at your business is not necessarily difficult because they are unwilling – the main thing is to let everyone know exactly what is expected of them and why. For example, by letting everyone know which waste streams they can recycle and the correct place to place it. This needs to happen before you setup your contract with a reputable recycling service and get internal waste bins on site. If the guidelines are crystal clear, all staff will be prepared for the change and it also gives them time to ask relevant questions or make suggestions so that they feel included in the process and thus eager to co-operate. Once the recycling scheme is underway, it a good idea to send out regular, positive emails to encourage their support.
Senior Management Involvement
You need to formalise your intentions to make environmental management part of your standard business practice. This means letting new staff know as soon as they start at your company through their induction. Staff who know what you are trying to achieve with regards to waste at the beginning will be more likely to embrace your low-waste scheme than staff that learn about it later on informally from other colleagues. When it comes to existing staff, they should be introduced to the new scheme at an official meeting. Any effective and successful recycling culture in a company requires a sustained involvement from senior management.
Information Reminders
Another effective way of reminding staff how important recycling is to your business is to print posters on the subject around the office, including signs telling everyone where the recycling bins are for different materials. Notice boards are another useful way of communicating the message, but bear in mind that any printed information is useful but needs to work alongside face-to-face discussions to truly hit home.
Incentives
It’s a good idea to link your recycling program with the performance of employees during appraisals. That’s not to say employee bonuses should rely on their use of recycling bins – a better approach would be for a manager to mention in an appraisal how the company is performing with regards to recycling or energy reduction and ask each member of staff for feedback on their involvement – this will make them feel included in the process and also let them know that recycling is high on the agenda for your company.
Another great way to motivate staff is to publish monthly figures on how much waste your business is recycling and have some kind of raffle, where for example tickets for the draw are only given out to those who using the recycle bin. It can really help motivate people and change hard-to-break habits when there’s a dinner treat or MP3 up for grabs.
Set Goals
Defining clear targets for waste reduction is one of the top ways to motivate people and keep them on track with your scheme. While zero waste is the obvious goal, in the beginning stages this could make recycling seem like an unfamiliar, unappealing and mammoth task. It’s better to pace your targets, such as achieving 25% recycling of all waste in the first year.
Champions of Green
Any business will likely have certain people who are more motivated about the Green issue than others – these people probably already recycle at home. As a business owner, you’ll do well singling out these types as Recycling Ambassadors to help you spread the message to the rest of your staff – you might even appoint a ‘Green Team’ who are fully supported by management.
Conclusion
By implementing a sound recycling strategy for your business, not only will you be doing your bit for the environment, you’ll realistically save money on waste disposal. In short, savvy business recycling is quite simply the way forward.
About the Author: George Rebstrum is a business recycling enthusiast.
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