Office Recycling
For businesses of all sizes
Implement an office recycling strategy to maximise the waste efficiencies of your business. Reconomy can provide this service with huge benefits.
Get in touchOffice recycling for businesses
Are you looking for ways to make your workplace more sustainable and eco-friendlier? Well, Reconomy help thousands of businesses across the UK every year by implementing robust office recycling stations, helping to aid the segregation of your office waste.
Impressive recycling levels look positive on any annual Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report, and they can also give you a competitive edge when tendering for business. Our support will help your business to focus on more than improving the management of your pre-existing office waste volumes. By partnering with each of our customers, we help them to achieve quick wins and long-term objectives by moving their waste further up the waste hierarchy. Our ideas can help shape and deliver your corporate goals, empowering you to think smarter and greener.
What is office waste recycling?
Office waste refers to any type of waste that is generated within an office environment. This can be generated from numerous materials, such as paper, cardboard, plastics, electronic equipment (WEEE waste), food waste, hazardous waste, and others.
Find out more by viewing our office waste services that can help tackle any waste stream you encounter:
Paper recycling
One of the most common types of waste found in an office environment is paper waste, commonly generated through printing, copying, and other forms of document creation. Whether it is used or unused paper, this type of waste is often discarded and will require a paper recycling container.
Find out moreCoffee Cup Recycling
A staple of many office environments is the takeaway coffee cup. The growing popularity of high street coffee shops has meant more waste arriving from commuting workers. To help tackle single use coffee cups, Reconomy’s sister company, Valpak, partnered with Costa in 2018 to launch a National Coffee Cup Scheme. The scheme has now collected and recycled over 155 million cups – see how your office can join the scheme and eliminate single-use cups today:
Find out moreWEEE Waste Recycling
Another common type of waste found in office environments is electronic waste or as it's more commonly known, WEEE waste. WEEE waste refers to end-of-life equipment such as computers, printers, and other electronic devices that are no longer fit for use. Not only is it old equipment, but packaging waste, arriving from deliveries, can generate hazardous waste items such as chemicals and batteries.
These types of hazardous waste items require specialist disposal, to prevent other waste from becoming contaminated. See how Reconomy can help you responsibly dispose of WEEE waste today.
WEEE Waste RecyclingFood recycling
Office waste isn’t just generated from business activity, it can also arrive from outside the business and be brought in. Food waste for example can generate large volumes in an office, usually arriving from staff and visitor lunches and snacks. Food waste continues to be a key factor in climate change and reducing it should be prioritised by us all. This is why segregation is crucial and it is imperative not to just throw away any generated food waste into a general waste bin.
See how Reconomy can aid your office’s segregation and assist with food waste recycling here.
Find out moreConfidential waste disposal
Whether it’s in paper format or digital format, office environments will always have confidential documents that need the utmost care when it comes to disposing of them.
When disposing of sensitive data or materials, it is critical that you take all necessary measures to keep them safe.
Any breaches of the Data Protection Act and GDPR can result in significant fines and cause long-lasting damage to the reputation of your business. It is therefore imperative that information such as customer details, employee records and supplier information is all disposed of in a compliant manner.
Reconomy can help with the safe and secure destruction of confidential waste, visit here to find out more.
Find out moreHow to reduce your business office recycling waste?
Robust management of office waste is important for both environmental and financial reasons. By increasing the amount of waste that is reused or sent for recycling, businesses can save money on waste disposal fees and contribute to a healthier planet. It could be as simple as starting with a waste composition analysis of your general waste bin, looking in your container, and seeing what can be separated for recycling, or cut out entirely.
Another example is to move away from single-use food packaging containers and move towards reusable options. Whether this is crockery and cutlery in canteens or reusable and washable clamshell food packaging that can be reused many times before it needs replacing. Reconomy can enable your business to reduce waste.
Here at Reconomy, our aim is to push you further up the waste hierarchy, by working with you to reduce the amount of office waste you create in the first place. We minimise resource usage and save you money. Should you require, one of our account managers will visit your site to conduct a waste audit. We will provide a detailed breakdown of your current waste arisings, as well as ways to improve.
Get in touch
Want some help deciding what you need? Please fill in the below form and one of our team will contact you. Alternatively, call us on 0800 074 1533
Office recycling is essential for several reasons. It helps conserve natural resources, reduces energy consumption, decreases landfill waste, and minimises pollution. Recycling in the office also promotes environmental awareness and sustainability.
Reconomy finds the following common recyclable materials in offices across the UK require disposal services:
To establish an office recycling program, follow these steps:
- Assess current waste generation and identify recyclable materials.
- Locate and label recycling bins for different materials in convenient locations throughout the office.
- Educate employees about the recycling program and provide clear instructions on what can be recycled.
- Regularly collect and sort recyclables, ensuring proper disposal to recycling facilities.
Encouraging recycling among employees can be achieved through:
- Employee education and awareness campaigns, including workshops, newsletters, and posters.
- Providing convenient and clearly labelled office recycling bins near workstations, break areas, and copy rooms.
- Recognising and rewarding employees for their recycling efforts.
- Leading by example, with management and supervisors actively participating in the recycling program.
Confidential documents should be securely shredded to protect sensitive information. Reconomy offers confidential waste disposal services that include confidential document shredding. Once shredded, the paper can be recycled along with other paper and cardboard.
Small staples and paper clips typically do not need to be removed before recycling paper. Most recycling facilities have equipment that can separate these materials during the recycling process. However, large metal clips, binder clips, or plastic-coated paper should be removed and disposed of separately.
Food and beverage containers made of materials such as plastic, aluminium, or glass can be recycled in the office. However, it’s important to rinse them out before placing them in the recycling bin to prevent contamination.
WEEE waste, such as old computers, printers, and electronic devices, should not be disposed of in regular trash bins. WEEE waste often contains hazardous materials that can harm the environment. Instead, explore Reconomy’s WEEE waste recycling services to help you dispose of the waste responsibly.
To reduce paper waste:
- Print only when necessary and encourage digital documentation and communication.
- Set printers and copiers to default double-sided printing.
- Reuse single-sided printed paper for internal drafts or notepads.
- Implement paperless billing and invoicing systems.
Yes, there are recycling options for office furniture, batteries, and other items. Contact Reconomy today for disposal assistance with these specific items. Alternatively, our partners over at Valpak offer battery boxes to help you collect this waste separately.