What is the impact of recycling in the workplace?

On The Cover What is the impact of recycling in the workplace?

Take a look at a UK company whose waste audit with desk bins surprised their staff – recycling hadn’t been a priority, and it showed in the culture of the workplace, and the results. Even if that doesn’t bother you, whats ending up in their bins could save them money if they were recycled.

A solution to save resources and money

In two days of collections, over 20% of the waste in their General Waste bins was food, and 6-14% in every General Waste bin was paper. Consider the weights found in the central bins multiplied by the 115 under-desk bins across the organisation’s buildings – that’s a large amount of recycling being lost, approximately 16.15kg per day. Over a week that would equal over 113 kg of

lost resources in recycling, and 5,877.4kg over a year, or roughly 6 tonnes.

By recycling efficiently and effectively, this organisation could not only save great amounts of resources being lost to landfill, but

also save over £367 a year simply by committing to better source separation. At Method, our purpose is to enable organisations to create behaviour change so they can recycle more and waste less. Our mission is to encourage organisations to create a more sustainable tomorrow by enabling change today, through creating spaces that facilitate environmental behaviours and creating a culture of shared responsibility and collective effort.

Reducing greenhouse gases Let’s focus first on food waste, with over 1.6 tonnes that could have composted. Why is this important? Non-recycled food waste contributes to 8% of

greenhouse gases and creates methane in the atmosphere, which is 25 times more potent than CO2. Moreover, recycling plastics and glass can save enough energy to heat the average UK house for 1 year. A more sustainable future How is this organisation going forward with our help? Firstly, they will phase out under desk bins and lone general waste bins and replace them with visible, beautiful, and effective recycling stations. Alternative options will be sought for single-use plastic bottles, and employees will be trained to be changemakers alongside their colleagues, forming their very own ‘green team’ to promote sustainability in the space.

Customised coffee cup streams and other initiatives New recycling streams for coffee and coffee cups – customised Method Twenty bins – will be introduced, and a clear waste reduction plan with clear steps to improve recycling rates, reduce cost and drive engagement.

Method makes recycling and waste sorting convenient and consistent throughout a building, with bins designed to share in spaces of any size that make a visible difference.

Are you ready to make a difference? Get in touch and the Method team can help you to find the solution for your workplace - methodrecycling.com.