Office recycling

Recycling and reducing waste whilst at work  

Why is recycling in the workplace important?

Depending on what type of business you work for, it may have certain responsibilities it is required to follow when it comes to recycling and waste disposal.

To allow the business and its employees to make a positive difference to the environment, how business waste is managed can play a central role to the company’s environmental credentials. 

Government targets to reduce the amount of business waste sent to landfill increase every April. And landfill tax for businesses increases alongside the targets, which businesses must pay to allow them to dispose of their general waste. It is very unlikely that many businesses can achieve zero waste to landfill. However, reducing the amount of waste a business creates by increasing recycling of taxable general waste, will help save a business money!

Read more information on the correct, safe collection and treatment of businesses waste and how you can improve business recycling. 

Day to day workplace recycling 

Recycling in the workplace, office, factory, shop etc. doesn’t have to be difficult. There are many easy solutions to help inspire employees and employers to produce less waste and recycle more.

Start by nominating a willing Recycling Champion. This should be someone who would be happy to take ownership of workplace recycling. This person can be responsible for implementing, communicating, and monitoring changes, and making sure that everyone in the business is aware of the recycling facilities available and how they should be used. Dependant on the size of the business, there could be more than one Recycling Champion. Other volunteers could help and form an Environment Committee to come up with and action plans.

If you are unsure where to start, why not begin by conducting a waste audit so you can understand the types of and how much waste is being produced by your business. Once you have the results of the waste audit, you will be able to prioritise which materials your business needs look to reduce, recycle more of or both.

Further hints and tips to help with recycling:

  • Try to remove all ‘under the desk’ waste bins. This will encourage staff to separate the waste into specially designated bins for the correct collection and recycling
  • Send unwanted items to a charity your workplace supports? Various charities will collect items such as stamps, ink cartridges or unused IT equipment
  • Introduce reusable water bottles and cups to cut down and eliminate the need for single use plastic and paper cups
  • If there is suitable outdoor space, why not introduce a composting area. You can introduce food caddies, allowing staff to reduce the amount of food waste going to landfill. They would even be able to take home some compost for the garden!

Battery recycling in the workplace

Valpak provides a Battery Collection Service that is free of charge to all businesses and organisations in the UK.

Complete our online form we will organise for battery boxes to be delivered to your business sites, so your staff can deposit household portable batteries (such as AAs and AAAs) for recycling while at work.

Once your battery box is full, all you need to do is let us know by calling 03450 682 572 and we will arrange for the box to be emptied. Our nominated service provider will collect the waste batteries and either return the box or replace it if it is damaged. This is also free.

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Why should I recycle?

Keep in touch 

We would love to hear about any ideas and changes you are making in your workplace to reduce your impact on the environment.

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