Keep Benton County Beautiful

There are various ways that companies can “go green” and have a positive impact on the environment. One method of conserving our planet’s resources is to recycle paper. Consumers use quite a bit of paper; but the amount of paper used by businesses is significantly higher. There are a few factors to consider, before implementing a recycling program, in your office.

Cost may not be the most important factor to consider, when discussing the survival of our planet. But, it is definitely an essential factor to consider, for a business that wants to stay solvent. It is important to find a qualified waste recycler, and get several quotes and references.

Costs for these services vary, depending on what area the business is located in. Some municipalities offer recycling services, along with regular waste removal, for an additional fee. If it is a competitive area, private waste recyclers may have lower rates.

Some companies have partnered with neighboring businesses, to share recycling costs. There are other costs involved, when undertaking a recycling program. It may be necessary to buy recycling containers, for individual employee desks. This way paper can be recycled, at the immediate source.

Training employees is another cost of instituting a recycling program. It will take time away from working, resulting in a temporary loss of productivity. Promoting a new recycling program will also cost company money. Publishing office memos or using space in company newsletters, costs money and takes away even more time from productivity, in other areas. Some companies may feel the need to offer rewards or incentives, to further compliance with a new recycling program.

The ultimate goal, of course is for cost savings of a recycling program, to outweigh any incurred costs. One of the biggest savings that will be realized is the high cost of paper use. Large companies commonly spend hundreds of thousands of dollars per year, on paper and related expenses.

It often goes unnoticed, because it is difficult to detect; and the printed page costs much more, than the cost of paper alone. The cost of the toner, copy machines and printers, and machine maintenance, are all incorporated into the final cost of a printed page.

Companies can also save a lot of money, in reaped productivity, when paper usage is greatly reduced. By training and encouraging employees to use electronic means of communication; they work faster and more efficiently. Time does not have to be spent reloading paper, undoing paper jams, waiting for faxes to finish going through, and so on. Furthermore, their communication with clients, via email, is immediate.

Of course, if a recycling program cannot be implemented and enforced, with some degree of ease; it becomes prohibitive.

This can be accomplished, with the help of a designated office coordinator, and a cooperative staff. The designated coordinator would need to oversee and enforce the recycling program, and act as a liaison between management, staff, and maintenance. Ultimately it would be this person’s responsibility to make sure employees understand their recycling responsibilities, and that management is in the loop of procedures and consequences. As noted before, a recycling company may need to be hired; and the coordinator should also handle this. Before a coordinator is designated and a program instituted, management needs to identify their storage and collection needs.

The office may not be large enough, to justify hiring a recycling company to haul their paper away. It is also important to educate and involve the custodial staff, which has a direct impact on how trash is handled. The entire program needs to be monitored and promoted, to encourage participation and reiterate the importance of recycling. It will not be an overnight process, but will take months to get running smoothly.

Most importantly, to both the environment and conservation conscious employers, is the impact of recycling, on our environment. Buying recycled paper helps to lessen the impact of soaring paper use. Old newspapers are commonly used to make tissue and cardboard; and old magazines are used to make newspaper. Collecting used paper and recycling reduces solid waste that fills up incinerators and landfills. The use of recycled paper saves energy, as it takes 60% less energy to produce, than virgin paper. No, this is not a direct savings to your company; but it is a benefit to the environment. Processing recycled paper also uses significantly less water. In addition to all of that, and maybe most importantly, buying and processing recycled paper, saves trees. Trees produce oxygen and preserve wildlife, by providing them with natural habitats.

Ranking each aspect of recycling paper, as a conservation alternative for a business it be as follows, with a scale of 1 to 5 ( 1 being most prohibitive and 5 being most beneficial):

3 – Cost – There is a fair amount of cost involved, not just in the waste hauling, but in the time and effort it would take to institute the program.
4 – Cost Savings – The potential savings, once past the learning curve, would outweigh the initial and ongoing costs.
3 – Ease of implementation – It entails enforcement and encouragement, and management would have to stay on top of it.
5 – Impact on our environment – Reducing paper waste would have a huge impact on our environment, if we could get all businesses to become active in this endeavor.

Average = 3.75 out of 5.0