This article is part of Rubicon’s Spring Greening series, where you can learn how to green up your cleanup this spring.
Your company has the power to take your workplace’s waste management efforts to the next level. With the help of the RUBICONMarketplace and the RUBICONMethod™ guide, your business’s zero waste journey will be easier than you could ever have imagined.
Click here for our free guide: 6 Steps to Successful Recycling and Waste Reduction
Here are seven actions you can take to make it happen:
Zero Waste Action 1: Choose a Leader
Change can be a big ship to steer, so start by figuring out who your “zero waste captain” will be. This person will be in charge of product orders, schedules, in-office waste diversion, and coordination of services. It’s important to remember that your staff and vendors may not all understand the impact recycling has on the environment, your brand, and on your bottom line—or even how and why their actions matter. Consider sharing some background information with them before diving into training.
Zero Waste Action 2: Get Organized
A simple way to start being less wasteful is to figure out where the waste in your business is. You can’t fix the problem before you find the source of it. Having everyone at work quickly evaluate their space is an informative place to start. Here are the three main areas to assess:
- The contents of garbage cans
- The amount of paper on desks
- The amount of single-use items that frequent break rooms and lunch spots
The contents of each garbage can will create a road map to your zero waste needs (Action 3), and the amount of paper on the desks will inform you of where you need to make changes (Action 5).
Make a list of the specific needs for your office, as well as opportunities for reduction. Take time to set sustainability and waste reduction goals. Sharing these goals will help your key stakeholders understand why this project is meaningful and requires their help.
Zero Waste Action 3: Sort It Out
So, you’ve evaluated your business’s garbage. Are there aluminum cans? Papers? Tissues? Ink cartridges? Old company phones? Regardless of what your employees are throwing away, Terracycle has the Zero Waste Box™ to capture it.
Their platform allows you to “recycle almost any type of waste, from your coffee capsules to complex laboratory waste. Choose the waste stream you’d like to recycle, purchase your preferred box size, collect your waste, and send it to TerraCycle to be repurposed (shipping is included).”
Zero Waste Action 4: Go Reusable
Because office workers traditionally drink mass amounts of coffee and tea, don’t be afraid to ask your employees to use reusable coffee cups, glasses, or travel mugs. Not only is this one of the easiest ways your office can instantly eliminate waste, but you can also use this as an opportunity to gift employees something branded.
If you would like to keep a few disposable containers on hand for visitors, clients, or anyone who forgets their favorite coffee mug, make sure those items (and all “single-use” items) are fully biodegradable and compostable and have the right disposal services lined up in advance.
Zero Waste Action 5: Go Compostable
Break rooms are great places for collecting the organic material needed for composting—coffee grounds, banana and orange peels, or even bread crusts. TerraCycle has a box for this as well.
The RUBICONMarketplace is selling compost bins and compostable liners to help keep your office’s collection containers clean, and increase participation. Commit to Green compostable bags can help alleviate cleanliness issues that are associated with collecting organic waste, as well as assist in meeting sustainability initiatives.
Zero Waste Action 6: Go Recyclable
While you are striving to be zero waste, make a point to go 100 percent recyclable at the same time. This means that everything you own, purchase, or use should be recyclable. If you need a recycling program, TerraCycle has you covered.
Zero Waste Action 7: Go Paperless
With access to systems and software capable of streamlining accounting, POS, task management, tax preparation, restaurant logistics, payroll, and HR systems, there is no reason for your business to still be paper heavy.
Check out the Rubicon Partner Marketplace for exclusive offers and essential tools to help you go paperless, and for the paper your business does have, get in touch with us here at Rubicon to find out how we can help you recycle it.
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This article is part of Rubicon’s Spring Greening series, where you can learn how to green up your cleanup this spring.
