Business Recycling or Bust

Today, we try and create green environments not only in our homes but also in our businesses. At home, it is easy enough, most cities actually offer you the option to recycle by providing you with special bins that are picked up by your garbage service. For businesses, in many cities this isn’t available. So, many businesses just keep throwing tons and tons of paper, cardboard, aluminum and more into the already bursting landfills.

How can businesses make small changes that can pack big impact for the environment? Well, in most cases, they feel that they can’t. Because they aren’t getting a fair shake in the recycling market through the city offices or even with the waste services. One way that businesses can try and recycle is by creating some sort of position within their offices. Perhaps one person that is in charge of recycling, this person would be in charge of the program, they would have to figure out, how to get necessary recycling to the centers or designated drop off locations, they would have to set up specialized bins so that employees can then place the items within the proper bins. Don’t forget about making sure that the message bout the new recycling program gotten out to every employee.

This may be difficult for large corporations. If you are just starting out a new business, it is best to implement a program right away. There are many ways of doing so. For example, make sure there is a designated area within your facility to allow for recycling. Notify customers that may be purchasing certain items that your business does recycle and would like them to help do so also. If possible designate a day when all recycling can be taken to the local center.

This can pose more of a challenge if you don’t have many people working in your business, a good example would be a “Mom and Pop” operation. New businesses can also establish ways of reusing items as well, for example, containers, find a new use for them, maybe to store hardware, pens, pencils, etc. Reuse those cardboard boxes for storage of paperwork. Reuse the back of paper, then recycle.

If cities would help businesses establish some sort of recycling programs this would be quite beneficial, not only for the businesses but also for the cities. This would increase the amount of recycling immensely. For example the amount of cardboard that most businesses end up throwing into their trash dumpsters would be reduced, the amount of paper, aluminum and plastics as well. All of which can be recycled, but with out the businesses getting the appropriate cooperation, they end up creating more problems for our environment. The more communities bond together in an effort to save and protect what is left of our environment, the better off we all will be.