Diverting waste from landfills is still an ongoing battle for many workplaces with some employees having less than ideal waste and recycling habits – offices with waste bins at each work station and desk-to-desk custodial pickup, while convenient, does nothing to break people of these bad habits.
Think about it, if you didn’t have to empty your own trash, would you think twice about what you’ve thrown in there?
Getting people to change their habits is easy, put a stop to employee waste complacency by:
- Implementing smaller waste bins and deskside recycling bins
- Ending desk-to-desk custodial pick-up
- Putting a waste and recycling station in a centralized location for employees to empty their smaller deskside waste baskets into.
By doing this you’ll get people to stop and actually think about what they’re putting in the trash. Having to empty their waste bins in a more centralized location will make them even more conscious of their waste habits since others can see what recyclable items they’ve thrown in the trash.
Taking the convenience out of throwing out trash is a good thing and will correct any bad habits that some work colleagues may have.
Size matters – with smaller waste bins you’ll see your waste management costs shrink as well. Getting rid of desk to desk pickup also saves money on custodial costs (averaging $50 per employee a year!)* and frees up time for custodial staff to perform other duties.
The costs of implementing new waste and recycling bins are often recouped within the year.
When this kind of waste reduction program was implemented in 25 Ontario government buildings, waste was reduced by 75-95% saving approximately one million dollars in custodial costs, the results of which were above and beyond what anyone expected.
The success of this program implemented by the Government of Ontario encouraged many other governments to replicate the program. Numerous organizations, local governments, and educational institutions have also put the same kind of initiatives into effect involving centralized waste and recycling bins, the results of which vary but are consistently positive.
Besides being a win for the environment, centralized waste bins will save money, break negative recycling habits and allow custodial staff to focus on other tasks.
In this day and age, there’s no reason for people to be lazy about recycling, especially when there’s so much at stake.
*Estimate according to Max Green Program (Province of Ontario).
