How do I get my company to recycle paper?
I don’t think they want to pay for recycling. When I suggested recycling, they just started laughing at me. It is heartbreaking to see so much paper going to waste
I don’t think they want to pay for recycling. When I suggested recycling, they just started laughing at me. It is heartbreaking to see so much paper going to waste
I think yours is a great idea! Here are some of mine too…
Apart from recycling, have you considered reusing paper, or using less? E.g. Printing or photocopying on two sides of a page, printing two pages two a sheet, not printing at all (viewing on a screen), etc.? I think it’s a good idea to promote this initiative as well, as it can save your company *money* (and we all know what that means!)… Plus, overall, I think it’s better for the environment if we use less paper, rather than using excess paper and then recycling it…
In addition, you can also try getting your company to buy recycled paper (e.g. for internal use only)… If this is (even slightly) cheaper, the accumulated cost savings might be significant!
An argument in favour of recycling which you can use is that being environmentally-friendly is nowadays looked upon favourably by consumers… I’ve seen ads where companies state the amount of paper they recycled, or energy they saved, etc., to promote a "green" image, and I think they work with potential customers!
Good luck!
Find a way that it doesn’t cost them, or better yet that they make some money. Obviously that is all they care about.
Hey, maybe YOU can start a side business with it. Seriously! You would offer to take it off their hands, just putting out bins for the stuff you want. YOU would take it to the recycle place and YOU would reap the recycle fees. Do the math and see if it is worth it, and you will have your answer.
Recycling is relatively inexpensive, so what I suggest is creating a way that recycling would be conducive to the environment and seen as an integral part of the work environment. For example, at my school there is a green plastic tub in each room for paper recyclables, which are then collected at the end of the day and put in a special dumpster that is specifically for paper to be recycled. What I think is that you will need to take the first step by contacting a recycling company to get all the details, but that shouldn’t be something too difficult.
You’ll have to get other people in your company to sign a petition and present it to management. Don’t just go through it alone. Get some facts on the benefits of recycling. Point out the favorable local newspaper or press coverage the company would get if they started recycling and were able to get a article published.
For local recycling locations:
http://earth911.org/
Paper recycling program designed for civic groups, schools, and large employers to raise funds through recycling
http://www.paperretriever.com/default.asp?id=173
Place recycling bins around, then take it to the center yourself. Where I live, there is a recycling center that pays for your recycling. Bring money in a couple times from it, and they’ll stop laughing.
Hello… You know what I had the same problem with my family.
I spend so much time gathering newspapers, but the next thing I know, it’s already in the garbage truck… Rude, but that’s life, you can’t expect everyone to agree with you everytime. Sure recycling a pound of newspapers cost .90 cents in here (California) what matters most is that your’e recycling right?
Start it your self. If youcare about it that much- you start it in your office and after a month or so show your boss how much paper you have recycled and try to get them on board again. Just because they said no the first time, doesnt mean to stop trying! Much luck in your efforts!
Go to your Chamber of Commerce, Trash collection company, City Counselperson, etc. and see if they can get your company and all local companies into the recycle program.
Put signs on different wastebaskets: Cans, bottles, newspaper, white paper, cardboard, etc., and hope that people will use them. (Our local community college did this several years ago, and it worked).
(Before I saw your ‘details’, my answer would have been to put an anonymous note into your suggestion box, but I see that you have told them, to no avail)
The only thing I can suggest is to get a petition started for your entire town to get recycling. Get enough signatures, then pass the petition on to your local, city, county, state… representatives. If you go to
http://www.Care2.com
you will find a tab on top for petitions. You can start your own, for your area, at that site. Also, you could write up the petition, get your signatures, and give the petition to anyone in power–even your state congresspeople..
When I was in school, my school started a recycling system where we put all of our paper into a box and then sold it to farmers for animal bedding. If you can come up with something like that where they make money, they can’t say no!