Commercial Waste Minimisation
Did you know that UK businesses lose up to
4.5% of annual turnover every year through avoidable
waste? By reducing the amount of waste you create, your
business can save money through reduced purchasing and
disposal costs. Environmentally this is one of the best ways
to deal with your waste. For example, if everyone in UK offices
saved one staple a day, it is estimated this could save up to 72
tonnes of metal a year.
This page gives you a few pointers for ways to tackle waste
minimisation within your business. It also includes details
of websites that can provide you with more comprehensive
guidance and support.
As businesses vary so much in the materials they deal with,
these pages concentrate mainly on areas common to the majority of
businesses (paper, stationary, electronic equipment, furniture,
catering), although the general principles can be applied to other
areas as well.
If you're going to look at reducing the amount of waste your
business creates, the first thing to do is to conduct a waste
audit. This will show you the types and amounts of waste you
are throwing away and associated costs, which will serve as a
baseline to measure performance and enable you to identify areas
for improvement.
The following websites provide further advice on conducting a
waste audit:
www.envirowise.gov.uk
www.wasteonline.org.uk
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For any waste minimisation scheme to work, staff involvement is
essential and training will form an important element of this.
Training should aim to ensure staff buy in and motivation by
covering the reasons for waste minimisation and the way that staff
can contribute, including any new policies and procedures.
Training should also cover an element of IT training to enable
staff to reduce the amount of paper being used (e.g. by
printing/photocopying on both sides, reducing the number of pages
used etc.)
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By considering the items that are regularly thrown away, you can
identify areas where you can reduce waste. The
following ideas are some suggestions to help get you started but
are by no means exhaustive.
Paper
- Print on both sides of the paper
- Use smaller envelopes and reuse envelopes for internal
mail
- Only print what's necessary and try to minimise the number of
pages used
- Use whiteboards in preference to flip charts
- Use notice boards or email in preference to circulars
- Cut out junk mail by asking to be removed from mailing lists
and make sure you keep your own mailing lists up to date
Catering
- Purchase non perishable items such as condiments in bulk
- Avoid individually packed sachets and use reusable containers
instead
General
- Share items like stationary (e.g. hole punches) rather than
issuing them individually
- Purchase more durable longer lasting items such as long life
lamps or rechargeable batteries
- Ensure that things are well maintained and stored properly to
extend their life
- Only order what's needed
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Many items can be reused within the office or between
departments and there are many reusable alternatives to
disposables. Alternatively items can be repaired or
refurbished, or donated to other organisations instead of being
thrown away.
Reusable Items
- Use reusable cups and glasses rather than plastic vending
cups
- In catering, choose reusable crockery and cutlery in preference
to paper or plastic disposable items
- Use paper clips rather than staples
- Use scrap paper rather than Post Its
- Reuse items such as folders and punch pockets
Repair or Refurbish
- Recondition or reupholster office furniture to prolong its
life
Donate Items
- Unwanted items can be donated to other departments or local
charities
- Good quality scrap items can be donated to the Children's
Scrapstore. For more information, please go to www.childrensscrapstore.co.uk
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