Reducing Waste at Work.indd

							Reducing Waste at Work
Huge amounts of waste are generated in shops, offices and factories in NSW each year
- over 1.5 million tonnes in Sydney alone. Every piece of waste thrown in the bin means
the natural resources used to produce this product has been thrown away and valuable
landfill space reduced.
However there are many things you can do around the office to reduce the amount of
waste created each day.
Paper, plastic, packaging, glass - even computers - all can be recycled. Often throwing something
away costs more than recycling or reusing it.
Recycling is an obvious way to reduce waste going to landfill, however we should also consider how
we could reduce the amount of waste created in the office.


REDUCING PAPER WASTE                                             REDUCING WASTE FROM OFFICE
Last year Australia used about 210,000 tonnes of office paper.   EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES
Below are some tips on how you can reduce the amount of          Obsolete equipment and used consumable such as toner
paper used in your office:                                       cartridges and computers have now become a major part
•      Check to see if your office equipment can print and       of the waste stream. In Australia we use around two million
       photocopy on both sides of the paper                      cartridges in the office each year and throw away 1.5 millions
•      Use email whenever you can and only print out when        of them when they are empty. That is equal to 1500 tonnes
       absolutely necessary                                      of plastic waste.
•      Review drafts and include comments on screen and          •      Research the types of equipment and consumerables
       return them electronically                                       your office is using. Are they able to be recycled at the
•      Use overhead projectors and whiteboards in meetings              end of their current life?
       instead of handouts                                       •      Ask suppliers what recycled cartridges they have
•      Order supplies by email                                          and whether they void any warranties of service
•      Order all supplies in bulk to minimise packaging waste           agreements
•      Talk to your office equipment manufacturers and           •      Find out if suppliers or other companies take back
       suppliers about whether you can use recycled paper               used machines or cartridges
       in their machines                                         •      Investigate buying a combination machine (printer,
                                                                        copier, fax and scanner) which will reduce the number
                                                                        of individual machines in the office.
                                                                 •      Rent equipment you only use occasionally
                                                                 •      Look after your office equipment by sticking to
                                                                        maintenance schedules
                                                                                    •         Ask your suppliers if they take
                                                                                              back used materials like packaging
                                                                                              waste and ask them to deliver
                                                                                              supplies in reusable containers.




                For information on receiving a commercial waste and recycling service contact Kogarah Council’s
                                               Waste Department on 9330 9400.

                For more on how you can reduce waste at work visit http://www.livingthing.net.au/infoPack02.asp