How to Design a Recycling and Waste Reduction Program for Your Business

With each passing year, the Earth is nearing its end at an accelerated rate because of the huge quantities of waste we generate. We then proceed to thoughtlessly dump it on land, into the sea, or release it into the air, leading to severe pollution and degradation of natural resources.

Despite multiple initiatives by various government and non-government organizations, the amount of waste generated or the poor management processes have shown no improvement. Commercial spaces like hotels, restaurants, office buildings, and stores contribute a lot of the waste generated every year. Most of this is carelessly dumped around, causing a menace to nature and the people living around it.

Many big and small businesses are lately adopting a remarkable initiative to save the environment. They are setting up individual management systems in connection with the local recycling center that collects the waste from the office and deals with it efficiently to ensure minimal environmental impact.

Why Should You Worry about Waste Management and Reduction?

Individual agents like families, schools, offices, and workshops can contribute a lot if each one manages their garbage production efficiently. Until lately, most businesses had not paid heed to waste management as its advantages are not always visible and apparent.

However, this does not imply that establishing efficient garbage management systems has no benefits for you. Some very prominent rewards that you can reap from efficiently managing waste in your office are:

• Save money and resources: The three R’s of waste management, Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle, save a lot of valuable resources. These prevent unnecessary wastage of power and stationery items in a workspace and help in cost-cutting while reducing pollution.

• Lower overhead costs: Like homes and hospitals, office spaces also have to pay a handsome amount for garbage disposal. Setting up your recycling services and encouraging your employees to generate less refuse will save your disposal allowance. Reusing old material also saves the cost of buying afresh.

• Improve image and customer service: In the present market scenario, waste management and sustainability are things customers look for in companies with which they engage. Consumers aware of environmental degradation engage in recycling regularly and expect recycling systems to be present in all institutions. Hence, if your business sets up one, it would put you ahead of your competitors in your customer’s eyes.

• Promote sustainability: Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling helps in creating a sustainable model to prevent the Earth from impending doom. Hence, a sustainable development model can bring economic advantages and promise a bright and secure future.

Designing a Functional Waste Management and Recycling Program in 5 Easy Steps

Are you planning to set up a waste reduction and management system in your office? Observe the following steps to design an efficient reduction and recycling program specially crafted to meet the needs of your office space.

• Track Generation

The first step toward an efficient garbage disposal and management system is tracking the amount of waste generated in your office. Often, wasting resources becomes so normalized that the process of waste generation becomes almost invisible to us.

However, to manage something, one must first learn to measure it. Therefore, to set up your efficient waste management and reduction program, you must first survey the use of resources in your office and track the usage pattern. The data revealed will go a long way in helping you plan your program.

• Form Your Own Green Teams and Set Agenda

  

Once you have tracked the usage and wastage of your resources, it is time to form focus groups and teams to tackle the problem. If your organization already has a green team, allot garbage generation, disposal, and reduction as agendas of the existing group. If you have not already formed one, create a group of responsible individuals passionate about environmental degradation and preservation.

Once your teams are in place, set time-specific goals and agendas to be achieved by the team. It is essential to have marked and measurable goals that your team can together strive to achieve. Use your tracking data to establish a benchmark and form goals.

• Regular Assessment

Assess your program regularly to ensure the fulfillment of goals in due time. Track the amount of garbage generated and the number of recyclables brought to the recycling center. Measure your goals based on data gathered from the recycling and waste generation rates.

Systematically assess the nature and amount of various elements in the waste generated in your building. Knowing the kind of refuse helps plan future steps towards its reduction and management.

• Compost and Recycle

Attempt to set up a fully functional compost pit and recycling bin in your office. Once you have taken all due steps toward waste reduction, the only natural consequence should be recycling the unavoidable refuse. Composting is the recycling of organic materials where the organic matter gets converted into rich manure.

When recycling and composting garbage in your office, look for the resources, equipment, collection systems, and markets available to you. Based on this availability, plan your engagement with the system. Try to keep the engagement as fun-filled, consistent, and encouraging as possible to draw as many people as possible.

• Generate Awareness and Motivate Participants

  

Dedicate a lion’s share of your time and efforts towards the awareness generation program. That is essential to get more and more employees involved in this drive. Generate a feeling of team spirit among the members so that the sense of belonging keeps them going with their spirits high.

Motivate the employees to keep participating in the drive with certificates of appreciation, regular acknowledgment, and recognition. Spread awareness about the need for waste reduction and management so that the initiative never becomes irrelevant.

Waste generation is one of the most menacing crises to humanity in the present day. Every human in the economic and social scenarios needs to realize their role in fighting this impending doom and take proper initiatives in this regard. However, just setting up a system is not enough. The most important part is generating awareness so that these initiatives never lack fervor. Make active attempts to reach out to a larger crowd and influence as many people as possible.