We are living on a planet: borrowed from our children.
 
In an ideal situation, every individual in the office would know how to reuse and reduce office waste.
 
Reducing and recycling in the office space not only helps in cutting costs but also helps improve the efficiency of resources and a positive impact on the environment is the bonus.

Quick tips on how we can achieve it:

1. What is your waste?

Doing a waste audit is crucial, to know how much and what kind of waste you produce in your office space. Based on the type you can either go for a professional waste management company or do it yourself.

2. Policy police

The next best thing to do is to make a robust policy for waste management in the office space. A more proactive policy that involves volunteering, rewarding and appreciation of the effort.

3. Reduce and Recycle

Taking simple steps and more doable activities such as using reusable water bottles and coffee cups helps them to reduce plastic waste. Did you know that 5000 single-use coffee cups are discarded every minute amounting to 2.5 billion single-use coffee cups being discarded globally every year! ⁽¹⁾  

4. Are you still printing?

In the digital age, it has become a very convenient choice to stop printing everything. There are companies which have started a no-print day. Printing smaller, printing as drafts, and printing on both sides are just a few more ways to save paper. The pledge is simple, printing only when it is to be signed and documented. PS:  We are proofing this blog through email attachments.

5. Reuse and Refill

There are numerous uses of old packaging or one-sided printed paper. For instance, A4 print paper boxes can be used for storing printed papers and documents. So, we can skip buying plastic storage boxes. Binders, file folders, rubber bands, paper clips, shredded old papers and using for packaging are just some more ways of reusing office supplies. 
Have you tried swapping ballpoint pens for eco-friendly refillable pens to create less plastic waste?  

6. Each one: teach one

A recycling buddy in each department takes initiative, educates the new employees/people and tries to get new ways to control waste in the office.
 

Other small things that matter:

• Just like Moore Stephens Gibraltar, provide recycling bins (paper, glass, plastic and cans all go in different bins) in the office space, making sure the waste is clean and correctly disposed of in the bins to reduce contamination of the batch.

• Procuring, buying everything that can be recyclable. Office waste is not inevitable, by modifying what we buy we can make a lot of difference.

Endnote:

A worldwide report suggests globally, only 9% of plastic waste is recycled while 22% is mismanaged ^(2.).  We still have a long way to go in terms of education, effectiveness and being able to have a cleaner environment. But small steps and affirmation of continuing to make those small steps into bigger footprints is the way to go.
 

References

1. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-43739043  
2. https://www.voanews.com/a/percent-of-plastic-worldwide-is-recycled-oecd-says-/6455012.html