If you live in a house or an apartment, you’re probably very familiar with trash pickup. You have a certain day each week when the garbage service will swing by your house and remove all of the trash that you left out for them. The same thing happens when you’re in an office. The trash removal service will come by each week to take care of your workplace waste. And just like at home, there are certain ways you can improve the waste management process in the office.
First, you can talk to your trash pickup service to find out where your waste is going. Knowing this can help you decide if there’s anything that needs to be changed. For example, if you find out that all of your plastic bottles are going to a place where it’s going to sit by the water, ask if there is an alternate place to stow those bottles. You don’t want those bottles falling into the ocean or lake.
It’s really all about transparency. And being transparent is another way you can help improve your waste management in the office. Make sure the trash pickup service is willing and able to tell you exactly when they’ll come by, that way you’ll be ready. It’s also important to ask if you should be sorting trash and recycling ahead of time and if there are any types of waste they don’t accept. Old computers and electronics, for example, can be recycled by specialty services. If you’re throwing out large furniture, make sure your trash removal company can accommodate such items.
If it’s clear that you have such a passion for trash ending up in the right places, the people around you might follow suit. Engaging everyone in the office is a great way to help improve the businesses waste management steps. Ask your trash provider for literature and posters to hang up all around the office. This will help people become more aware of what they’re tossing out and where. It’s a great way to get everyone involved.
Taking a hard look at what you’re throwing out in the office and where it’s going can actually help solve many problems. On average, it costs $30 per ton to recycle garbage and $50 per ton to send it to a landfill. Keep that in mind next time when you’re throwing out your leftover Chinese food container.
