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This page presents an outline of how waste-conscious businesses manage their offices.
You may also be interested in the Board's general directory of
waste reduction
information for businesses.
A question frequently asked the California Integrated Waste Management Board
(CIWMB) is, how do I start a paper recycling program at my
business or organization? This page answers that question.
However, in general, CIWMB recommends that instead of initiating a recycling program,
businesses and organizations initiate combined recycling and waste
prevention programs to address not only recycling, but also practices to
reduce paper consumption and to reuse office supplies such as paper and
toner cartridges.
CIWMB also suggests not neglecting organics. If the
business or organization has some sort of yard or landscape to manage, there
are opportunities to prevent waste, recycle, and reduce waster use. Some
businesses and organizations have cafeterias or restaurants, and can thus
divert food scraps and left over food from the trash to other uses. Even
businesses without food establishments or landscape can recycle organics if
staff eat food in the office. Office vermicomposting can recycle apple
cores, banana peels, and other food scraps left over from lunch.
Waste is a symptom of an
inefficient process. Preventing waste increases efficiency. Increasing
efficiency increases profits. Theoretically speaking, it is
better to prevent the generation of waste than it is to recycle. You can
only recycle waste that you have failed to prevent. So, place your emphasis
on reducing waste if you can, then recycle the waste that you must generate.
However, there is an old saying, "In theory, practice and theory are the
same, in practice, they are not." You might need to start with the concepts and
practices that staff are most familiar with, and are thus more likely to
rapidly embrace. Go for the low hanging fruit first. Do what is easy
just to get staff started. Even those easy things require commitment to
making changes in people's daily habits, and habits are hard to change. For
many, recycling is the best place to start.
- Set your photocopiers and printers to print on
both sides by default.
- Make computer files, not paper files when possible. If you have not
explored computer alternatives to paper in a couple years, then you really
have a lot of catching up to do. Numerous free or inexpensive software
programs, such as
Stickies or
NoteWhen can reduce or eliminate the need for sticky notes and note
pads. These programs, as well as most electronic calendars and task
lists, can be set to remind you of some event or task with a special
message at any time in the future. Small handheld computers, such as the
Zire sold by palmOne, the iPaq
sold by HP, and all the others models
and brands are especially good for reminding, note taking, calendar
scheduling, and other paper-consuming tasks.
Recent advances in computer software make it easy to create
documents that are encrypted, password protected, and safe from either unauthorized
access or alteration. This can be done with very sophisticated free and
low cost software. Electronic signatures are widely accepted and
legally binding. Over the long run, electronic files save floor and file
space. In most cases electronic documents are safer than paper. Backup copies can be easily transferred to high capacity low cost removable
media, such as compact discs or removable hard drives, and stored off-site.
Backups can also be transferred over secure internet connections for
off-site storage. You never need to loose documents to fire or
flood or theft.
Computer magazines such as
PC Magazine and
Computer World
have searchable Web sites that can get you started. You can also contact
bzassist@ciwmb.ca.gov for ideas.
- Fight junk mail—Take steps to reduce the amount of junk mail that your office receives.
See
Reducing Unsolicited Mail at Your Business.
- Reuse envelopes and send them through the mail again whenever
possible. We understand that business do not like to send some types of mail
in used envelopes for reasons of corporate image. However, many businesses
conduct a fair amount of mailing of types where corporate image in not a
factor. For this type of mailing, use labels to cover the old address on
used envelopes. Some companies sell
reuse labels for envelopes, which have a discrete message at the
bottom explaining that this envelope was reused to save trees.
- Have each staff persons set aside paper that
they use on only one side, so that it can be reused for printing drafts in
your printer, or glued together to make scratch pads. As staff accumulate
paper, they can transfer it to a centrally located storage box, possibly
next to a printer or photocopiers.
- Use padding compound, the glue that holds paper together in tablets,
to make scratch pads form your paper that was used only on one side. Padding
compound is available from many office supply stores. You can clamp the edge
of the paper together with blocks of wood and C-clamps, or you can invest
in a small paper padding press.
Several types are sold for well under $150.
- Buy "recycled" toner cartridges, and send your spent toner cartridges
to be "recycled". Commercially, this is referred to as recycling, but it
is actually a form of reuse.
- Encourage staff to use reusable coffee mugs when they pick up coffee
in the morning on their way into the office. Hang a
mug reuse poster in your
break room.
- Invest in rechargeable batteries and battery chargers for
digital cameras, flashlights, and other small devices. If your staff can
be trusted to not accidentally throw away or loose the rechargeable
batteries, in the long run it would be cheaper and better for the environment.
More Information.
Recycle glass, plastic, metal cans, white
paper, and mixed paper and organics as you do at home. (You do that at home,
don't you?)
How to Start Recycling Paper
To start a recycling program, determine which material you want to
recycle, find someone to pick up the material, put recycling bins
around your office, and get staff to participate. That is "all" there is to
it. Having commitment from your management to encourage staff will help. But
it is even more important to have management participate. For
a more through exploration of how to start, see
Creating a Paper Reduction
Campaign In Your Office.
Yellow pages directories generally have recycling vendors who will pick
up your recyclables. Look under headings such as recycling, refuse, waste
disposal, etc. One yellow page directory has a heading called, Waste
Disposal Reduction and Recycling. Call around to see who can offer you the
best pickup service. Each vendor will have their own requirements and
conditions. Schedules and prices can be negotiated.
Sample contracts are also
available for download from the Waste Prevention Information Exchange, a
program of CIWMB. Most
vendors will supply large bins to keep in the yard. Some will provide
smaller bins to place around the office. The types of services provided by
local recycling vendors varies throughout the state. Shop around and
compare. You can buy your own bins if need be. See the
list of bin manufactures.
Some counties and cities have recycling coordinators who can help you. To
find the recycling coordinator in your community, look in the government
section of your phone directory. The public works department for your county
or city is the most likely place to find the recycling coordinator. Also see
The Waste Prevention Information Exchange's page on
Local Contacts for Waste Prevention and
Recycling.
Recycle Organics, Inside and Out
- Keep worms in
your office. We're not kidding. We do it at CIWMB, and
throughout the entire agency, Cal/EPA.
More than 100 staff members throughout the building have received a worm bin
with worms, and training on how to practice vermicomposting. These volunteers, referred to as
“Worm Wranglers,” bury their coffee grounds, tea bags, and food scraps
such as apple cores and banana peels, in a bedding of shredded newspaper.
A wiggle (the recognized name for a group of worms) of more than a
thousand worms in each bin consume the waste and generate a rich, valuable
soil amendment. The building's property management also maintains a
larger worm bin that contains nearly 20,000 worms. This bin is
located on the exterior of the building and is used to process food
preparation scraps from the on-site café.
Make your worm bins, or buy them from any of the
worm bin vendors listed
in our vermicomposting section of this Web
site. You might have noticed that some of the recycling bin vendors listed
in this section of this Web site make
worm bins, but if worm bins are your main interest, the worm bin vendor list in the
vermicomposting section is a more complete list.
Worm suppliers are also listed
on this Web site. It is generally better to buy your worms from a supplier
who can sell you a type of worm that is well suited for worm bins. Unless
you are pretty well brushed up on oligochaetology, do not try to dig up
worms from your back yard. There are likely to be at least a few varieties
wiggling around in the soil, and most of them do not do well in worm bins.
Download The Worm Guide
(PDF, 1.2 MB) to read all you need to know about starting a small worm
bin.
- If you have a cafeteria or café, look into food diversion and
vermicomposting. See the food waste page of the
Waste Prevention Information Exchange, as well as the
food recycling and
food scrap management pages on this Web site.
-
Grasscycle your lawn clippings if you maintain landscape, and compost
your yard pruning. To learn how to compost on a small scale, see the CIWMB
home composting page or
contact your city or county government. If you prefer to compost in a bin
instead of an open pile,
or if compost bins are required in you community, see the CIWMB
compost bin resource list. You might have noticed that some of the recycling bin vendors
listed in this section of this Web site make
compost bins, but if compost bins are your main interest, the
compost bin resource list is a
more complete list.
Reduce water use wherever you can.
Use mulch to reduce weeds and water use. See the
Mulching Trees and Shrubs page, by North Carolina State University.
For additional information about organics, see the CIWMB
Organic Materials Management Page.
- You are not recycling if you send your waste to be recycled, but you do not buy
products
made from recycled content.
- Look for the type and the amount of recycled content in
anything that you buy. Postconsumer content is better than
postmanufacturer content. If the paper has postconsumer content it will
most likely say so.
Otherwise, assume the claimed recycled content is postmanufacturer.
- Buy only what you know you will use. This may seem obvious, but keep
in mind that there is an environmental cost to buying something and
letting it sit on the shelf forever. If that something is a solvent, or a
solvent-containing liquid such as paint or some cleaners, by the time that
product spoils, the solvents will have evaporated and contributed
needlessly to air pollution. Many items have a useable shelf life. Some
paper manufacturers claim that even paper should be used within a couple
years to prevent jams in copy machines and printers. The adhesive on
envelopes goes bad in time. Bulk purchasing can be a excellent way to
reduce costs, and the use of packaging and fossil fuels for transport, but
find the balance.
- Intersperse regular use of strong cleaners and solvents with less
toxic and water based cleaners. Everything from process machinery to
toilets need to be cleaned occasionally, but if you clean regularly, you
don't need to use the strongest chemicals known to humankind each and
every time. A growing practice is to use the strong stuff about every
fourth time, and use milder alternatives in between. U. S. EPA maintains a
Database of
Environmental Information for Products and Services.
Greenseal
is another good source of information on environmentally preferable
products. You might also try the
Environmentally Preferable Purchasing section of the Waste Prevention
Information Exchange, and the CIWMB Environmentally
Preferable Purchasing page for other sources of information.
- Select products from suppliers and manufactures that use minimal packaging.
If you buy paper by the case, by paper that is not packaged in individual
reams. If you buy cleaning agents by the case, buy those that do not
have cardboard dividers between the bottles. Look for similar waste
reduction opportunities in all your purchasing. If you work for company large
enough to make a difference, tell the manufactures that your selections are
based on the amount of packaging that they use.
- Reuse packing material whenever
possible, and look for ways to reduce its use when you send products
to customers.
- See the CIWMB packaging Web site for more
ideas.
Publicize your waste prevention efforts. In brochures and
advertisements that you print, discretely display a small paragraph
somewhere that tactfully boasts of your office waste prevention practices.
Many of your clients will be favorably impressed; probably none will find it
distasteful. A good example is the best motivator, and you might help
persuade other businesses to practice waste prevention.
After you have given yourself a gold star for your waste prevention
efforts, let us give you one too. The California Integrated Waste Management
Board has an awards program that each year recognizes businesses of all
sizes that have enthusiastically embraced waste prevention. However, you must apply
for the award. See the Waste Reduction Awards Program.
More award programs are listed under the topic Award
Programs, in the Waste Prevention Information Exchange.
-
Fact Sheets to Get You Going—CIWMB can provide free fact sheets that might be of use to
you and to others whom you might need
to convince to participate in your waste prevention and
recycling program. Contact
bzassist@ciwmb.ca.gov for assistance, or view and download the material
yourself. For starters, take a look at these two lists of publications,
Business Waste Reduction, and
Business Assistance, or go to the CIWMB
publications search page and do key word searches on terms such as,
paper, office, waste prevention, waste reduction, landscape, compost, food,
restaurant.
-
Posters and Signs—CIWMB has free signs and posters to help
you direct recyclable and reusable items in your office, and to promote you
waste reduction and recycling efforts.
- Business Waste Reduction—A
quick resource reference for businesses including
office paper
reduction ideas,
fact sheets, "Business Kits"
and the waste reduction posters,
links to grants and loans, and more.
-
California Materials Exchange (CalMAX)—For
the things you want to acquire, and the still useful things your might otherwise
discard.
- Construction and Demolition—Find new lives
for construction materials.
- Electronic Product Management—What
to do with your old computers, TVs, radios, cell phones, etc.
- Environmentally Preferable Purchasing—Every
product purchased has an impact on human health and the environment.
What kind of impact are you making?
- Organics—Commercial agriculture, backyard
gardening, composting, lawns, vermiculture, and much more.
- Packaging—Resources for
manufacturers and suppliers.
- Paper Information and Resources—Everything
you need to know about paper.
- Recycled Content Product Directory and
RecycleStore—If you
don't buy recycled, you are not really recycling.
- Reuse—Because new is often not the
best option, and because there are better places to get rid of your
stuff than the trash can. Local public agencies might qualify for
Reuses Assistance Grants.
- Waste Reduction Award Program (WRAP)—So
you think your business or nonprofit organization is waste conscious?
Prove it! Apply for a prestigious WRAP award.
- Waste Prevention Information Exchange—The
most comprehensive source of all types of waste prevention
information. And if there is anything missing, you can add to the
exchange.
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