How To Go Green With Office Paper Recycling: Everything You Should Know

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03.09.2018 SUSTAINABILITY & ECO-INNOVATIONS 0.0 0

Stop throwing away paper!

The waste generation around the world is increasing exponentially, which has raised the need of green methods to curb it. Apart from encouraging green living at home, one needs to work on the business side too because factories and offices generate more waste than homes.

Waste reduction is a straightforward method, i.e., one should stop wasting resources and understand the significance of what that can do. Efficient waste disposal is the right way of waste reduction or at least it helps lower the impact of waste on the environment.

This article will focus on paper waste only because it comprises a prominent part of everyone’s life. Read on to find out about some facts related to paper waste, what is paper recycling, why offices should lean towards it and what are the advantages of recycling office paper.

Facts

Production of one sheet of A4 paper consumed 5 liters of water.
If you recycle one ton of paper, then 682.5 gallons of oil, 26,500 liters of water and 17 trees are saved.
More than 50% of business waste consists of paper.

What Is Paper Recycling?

Paper is collected from the bins and taken to the recycling plant. Then, it is separated into different grades and washed with soapy water to remove the inks, staples, and glue. Then, it is mixed with water to create ‘slurry’. The slurry is used as a raw material to create different types of paper products. The slurry is combined with a variety of materials to get the desired product. In the end, it is left to dry, and then, it is cut into pieces, packed and transported to the shops.

Businesses Need To Focus

As already mentioned above, more than 50% of business waste is composed of paper; this shows how much work is required to reduce it to a controllable level. You surely cannot stop using paper products altogether, especially when using plastic will make matters worse.

The world needs to understand that technology can be used to our advantage in this aspect, i.e., why write, when you can type or why distribute disclaimers when you can e-mail them. Now, you are getting a hold of it, right?

The advent of the digital world has brought many gifts with it that we haven’t realized yet. Yes, printing is also one of the many gifts, but we can use it more efficiently too. Read ahead to get some tips that you can employ in your office to reduce paper consumption and waste generation:

Think before you print anything; prefer e-mailing wherever possible.
Prefer double-sided printing to single-sided. It will directly reduce your consumption to somewhere around 50%.
Place paper recycling boxes at every corner in your office to make sure that no paper product is dumped elsewhere.
Let your employees know the significance of paper recycling; you can even have a rule for the same to make sure everyone follows it.
Install a few whiteboards in your office to make sure less paper is used for creating strategies and brainstorming ideas.
Don’t use the shredder on every document you want to dispose of; the waste paper can be used for rough work at times too.
Hire a trusted professional service, who knows what they are doing, to dispose of the paper waste.

It all comes down to encouraging your employees and yourself to reduce paper consumption wherever possible and disposing of the paper products in the right bins to make sure that the proper professionals can deal with it and reduce the carbon footprint altogether.

Advantages of Paper Recycling

There are many advantages of paper recycling, such as:
Saves space in landfills
Saves water and energy
Reduces greenhouse gases
Lowers your carbon footprint
Preserves resources
Inspires employees
Helps with the marketing and PR of the brand
Keeps your business in a positive light
Reduces your overhead costs
Increases productivity because your employees are more inclined towards preserving resources than wasting them

Let’s Make the World Better

The question you need to ask yourself is, “What are you leaving as a legacy for the future generations”? If you are happy with the answer you have, then all’s good, but if you are not, then it is time to change the way you operate.

You have to recognize the pain points in your business, i.e., areas where waste is generated the most, to make sure that you don’t support it. Waste generation is directly related to increased expenses as well, so it is time to put an end to it. You can reduce your manufacturing costs as well as your operating costs notably if you employ the tips mentioned above, and lower paper wastage significantly.

It is never too late to start adopting a good habit, be the leader your organization expects you to and help them learn the importance of recycling.

Guest post by Rebecca Pryor

About the Author

Rebecca Pryor is managing director of A&A Skip Hire – one of North London’s leading provider of domestic and commercial skips.