Recycle

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Affordability

Recycling programs are relatively easy to implement, can save your business money and can show your employees and customers your company's commitment to environmental responsibility.

Cost savings

It costs less to recycle materials than to dispose of waste. Typically you pay $6 to $15 to dispose of a cubic metre of waste, but less than $5 to recycle the same volume.

Environmental considerations

Recycling conserves natural resources to help sustain the environment, reduces the need for landfilling and incineration, saves energy and prevents pollution caused by the harvest and processing of virgin materials.

What you need to know

Appoint a Recycling Coordinator

Appointing a Recycling Coordinator and/or Green Committee is important to the implementation of your recycling program. The main responsibilities of the Recycling Coordinator are:

• Selecting a recycler or hauling service and working with them to develop the collection system (these companies are a wealth of information and will be instrumental in setting up your program);
• Obtaining and distributing collection containers, ensuring that they are placed in easily accessible areas;
• Promoting recycling efforts with both supervisors and employees and answering questions;
• Tracking and reporting on the progress of the program, including cost savings
• Acting as liaison with the recycling company, the janitorial staff and the property manager.

Determine what you will recycle

• Based on your waste assessment choose which materials you will to recycle. Start with any banned materials. Banned materials may differ from one municipality to another; check with yours for a list. Obvious materials to recycle are: paper, cardboard, refundable drink containers such as plastic and glass bottles and aluminum cans and computer equipment. You should also check with your waste/recycling hauler to see which materials they accept.
• Manufacturing businesses also have many options for recycling scrap metals and other materials.
• As your program develops and is embraced by your co-workers, you can recycle additional materials such as toner cartridges, computer diskettes, CDs, fluorescent lights, batteries, office furniture, scrap metal and more.

Set up your collection system

• Decide how you are going to collect each item. For example, do you want to have separate bins for sorting the materials or do you want to mix the materials together and pay someone else to sort them? Your hauling services may require a specific sorting method and will have good advice on this specific part of your program implementation.
• Place recycling bins in accessible, high traffic areas and provide clear information about what can be recycled. A simple and convenient collection system will result in greater employee participation. Well-marked recycling containers placed at every desk and in other common work areas (where large quantities of material are generated) will enable you to collect the greatest volume of recyclables. Label bins or collection boxes with clear information about what to put in – and what to keep out.
• Once you’ve established a way to collect your recyclable materials, make sure your cleaning staff understands how to handle your recyclable waste. You may need to have your janitorial contracts reviewed and amended, as some do not allow for handling recycling. Determine who will be responsible for emptying deskside recycling containers and how often. Also determine who will transfer any central collection bins to the outdoor collection containers. Make sure to communicate all responsibilities clearly.

Monitor your program

• Once your recycling program is established, monitor its effectiveness in terms of cost savings, employee participation and overall waste reduction. Then use this information to set target goals. Your hauling service provider can usually keep track of how much you are sending to recycling over a given period. Request that regular reports for recycled quantities be submitted to your business as part of your waste-hauling contract.
• Important information to obtain from your waste/recycling haulers includes:
  • Amount of waste disposed annually (tonnes or kgs)
  • Amount of recyclables (by material in tonnes or kgs)
  • Percentage of waste diversion from landfill
  • Also, be sure to discuss setting and communicating your waste diversion goals with your hauler.
• When your program is established, contact your garbage contractor to see if you can reduce the cost of your garbage services based on your reduced waste levels. This might be through reducing the size of your garbage bin or having your garbage picked up less often. This may require some negotiation by your purchasing department.

Promote participation

• Hold a kick off event to introduce management and staff to the new or improved recycling program.
• To keep management and staff engaged, report progress and updates on a regular basis. Recognize those employees or departments that are doing an exemplary job with recycling efforts.
• Ask for employee feedback and suggestion on how to improve your program.
• Increase awareness by having information about recycling and waste prevention readily available for those who want to learn more.
• Conduct short training sessions regarding your recycling program as part of the regular staff orientation for new hires.
• Include information about your waste prevention policies and practices in all of your training sessions as well as on your internal and external websites.

Taking it further

• Promote your recycling program outside the company. Engage your customers by asking them to support your low-waste and recycling efforts (i.e. by bringing their own shopping bags or accepting a new format of packaging on your goods).
• Become a leader in your industry and community by promoting your recycling efforts outside your business – this enhances your reputation and can attract customers. Aim for environmental awards such as the Recycling Council of British Columbia’s Annual Environmental awards, join recycling or environmental organizations and share your success stories and cost savings on your website or e-newsletter.

FAQ

Can I recycle shredded paper?
All businesses generate paper that is confidential and sensitive. With an increase in identity theft, shredding confidential documents has become an important way to protect privacy. However, shredding paper is problematic for the environment and recycling for several reasons. When paper is shredded, its fibre length is reduced. The length of a paper fiber determines its value in the recycling process, since a longer fibre can be used to make a higher-grade paper and can be recycled more times. Shredded paper is also not as marketable as non-shredded paper because it loses high quality recycling potential due to contaminants, such as plastic, that can get caught in the shred along with the paper.

Some helpful tips for shredding paper

• Shred only the portions of the document containing sensitive information and recycle the rest.
• Instruct co-workers on what kinds of information should be shredded and include this in your paper policy.
• Minimize junk mail such as credit card offers and remove old employees and contacts from mailing lists.
• Go paperless. Scanning and emailing documents can reduce paper usage, office costs and the need to shred.
• Set your shredder to the thickest width so your confidential information is illegible but there is more intact fiber.

Why does paper need to be sorted before it is recycled?
Successful recycling requires clean recovered paper which is free of contaminants such as food, plastic, metal and other trash. Contaminated paper can introduce impurities and bacteria into the recycling process. Furthermore, different grades of paper - corrugated boxes, newspapers and office paper - must be kept separate because the different grades of recovered paper are used to make particular types of recycled paper products.

What are some of the environmental benefits of buying recycled paper?
The Green Press Initiative (GPI) states that one of the biggest benefits of using recycled fibre is that it emits 38% less GHGs than fibre harvested from virgin sources. Producing recycled paper also uses 44% less energy than production from virgin material. Up to 34 mature trees are conserved for every ton of recycled fibre used. Other benefits include water conservation and reduced waste water.

How do I find a recycler / waste hauler? Can I compare services?
Services may be limited in some regions – in these cases, work with your current supplier to see if you can improve services and find more ways to reduce and recycle. In denser areas, compare suppliers and choose one that covers the best range of materials for your company's needs.