It doesn’t matter whether you’re currently succeeding at your New Year’s resolutions, or you’ve packed them in already, we’ve got another one for you to add to the list: increase your recycling. In an age where pollution is a blight on the world and businesses have a corporate responsibility to do more, it’s important for organisations to embrace the notion of a recycling office. And one of the best benefits for your business, aside from the positive impact you’re making on the planet? It could be exactly what you need to kick-start a tidier office initiative. How you ask? We’ll tell you:
Create Better Cleaning Habits
Recycling is obviously a good habit, and one which can help your employees to build further better habits. For example, knowing that food waste has to go into its own bin in the kitchen area makes it easier to remember that cups need to be taken to the sink. Similarly, a weekly round-up of waste paper destined for the recycling encourages employees to keep a tidy desk, free of cluttering sheets of A4 they have no need for. What starts as a small, simple daily change can quickly expand to cover other tidying habits in a matter of weeks.
Employees Are More Involved
A business-wide recycling initiative doesn’t always sound like something you’d expect employees to get excited about, but in truth it opens their eyes to aspects of the company outside of their own workspace. With all employees focusing on the same goal together, you may quickly find that workplace pride is at an all-time high, with everyone willing to pitch in to keep it a clean, harmonious working environment. Of course, this also generally brings better team work and engagement between employees – definitely an added benefit.
Everything in its Place & a Place for Everything
Assigning bins for each type of recyclable material doesn’t exactly sound like a thrilling office activity, but you’d be surprised at what it does for organisation in the workplace. The tiny rules around where waste paper goes vs tin cans translates into a bigger picture: everything has its own place and it needs to be returned there to keep things neat.
Which leads us onto one of the best ways recycling is going to help the cleaning situation…
Emptying the Bins Becomes Easier
Nobody wants to empty the office bins, but when they’ve got to go, they’ve got to go. Unfortunately, it’s not a pleasant task when rotting banana skins and half eaten sandwiches are mixed in with bits of paper and empty biros. What’s worse is if the owner of your property or the council have a strict recycling policy in place – cue stomachs turning as you have to separate out decomposing fruit skins from out of date print-outs. The fact is, it’s much simpler to have a recycling strategy in place ahead of time to prevent having to undertake this gag-worthy task – and by separating where food waste goes (keep it to the kitchen bin), you can prevent any nasty odours making your office uninhabitable for employees and clients.
So…How Do We Get Started?
It’s easy to write up a recycling strategy, but the key is to stick to it. By introducing it to your team and getting everyone on board, you’re much more likely as an organisation to keep it up. Ensure that paper has its own bin, as well as a general/food waste bin and ‘other’ recycling (such as tin cans, bottles and cardboard). Make a weekly activity out of collecting any stray recyclables to start building the habits and you’ll start to notice a cleaner office before you know it.
We can’t sort your recycling out for you, but we can keep your office in tip-top condition all year round! Get in touch now with Manchester’s only cleaning company with 100% reliability guarantee, and let’s see how we can help you.