We have one month to go until we usher in 2021, and we don’t think it is an assumption that the majority of us will be waving cheerfully goodbye to this past year! With Christmas decorations going up earlier than ever, many of us will be using the festive season as a great reason to inject some additional cheer into our daily life. Yet, as we have written before, Christmas generates a lot of waste, which it is vital to dispose of properly. At home, this can be relatively easy, with different coloured bins and easy access to the internet to tell you what can be recycled and what can’t. But how do you help to encourage recycling at Christmas while in the office? Here are our Top Tips:
Check what Christmas recycling your council collects
This is crucial for effective recycling. Should you separate glass and plastic or does your council accept a mix? Check with your local contractor and set up separate bins accordingly, it is most effective if this is where people prepare and eat food, this could be a kitchen or perhaps a break-out area. Recycling bins for batteries, printer cartridges and other electricals should be positioned near the equipment they relate to.
Check for cleanliness
In order to pass the stringent checks for recycling, all items should be clean. Remind staff to rinse any food or drink containers before placing in the bins and paper should also be clean. While ink and pencil markings are fine, any grease smudges or coffee spillages will see the batch rejected.
Check for excess waste
By far the action that has the greatest environmental impact is to reduce your recycling and waste overall. Encourage your staff to eliminate single use plastic, for example you could supply them each with a branded, reusable, water bottle, or simply buy glasses instead of using the plastic cups that come with a water cooler. Consider installing a filter into your office water system to purify your tap water (this will work out cheaper in the longterm) and look into sharing documents online. If you must print then how about using one of our Eco-recycling bags to collect the waste and then have it securely shredded.
Many businesses delay changing their practices to incorporate better recycling processes as they fear it will incur additional costs. Yet many of these, such as switching a water cooler to a water filter, are one-off costs that will bring later savings. And, when waste collection charges are taken into account, reducing the amount you send to landfill or the amount of recycling that needs to be collected will bring immediate savings.
You can read more on the recycling and waste disposal services we offer using the tabs above, or get in touch to see how we can help your business on bookings@tiptopmedia.co.uk or call us on 020 3234 0090.
Here are some other posts relating to Christmas recycling in the office that you may be interested in reading:
TipTop Christmas Ideas
How to have an eco friendly Christmas
Recycling: The services we offer
