How to Recycle Paper in the Office

Offices can be a major part of conserving resources by recycling.

With the daily tasks of making copies, printing emails or projects, and sending around memos, offices consume a significant amount of paper. Instead of letting the paper go to waste, it should be reused as scrap paper and then recycled once both sides have been printed. Customers and employees appreciate a company that takes time to put the earth's resources before its profits, but luckily, it's a win-win situation, and the company will save money on paper reams as well. Recycling in an office is as easy as setting aside collection bins and making it an office-wide policy to comply with paper recycling efforts.

Things You'll Need

• Recycling bins

Instructions

1. Place paper recycling bins at strategic places around the office--near copy machines and employees' desks, for example.

2. Institute an office-wide policy of recycling by notifying everyone in the office of the location and purpose of the paper recycling bins.

3. Educate all employees on the types of paper that are recyclable in your area, or place a sign on each bin with a list of acceptable and non-acceptable items. Most recycling centers will take white paper, colored paper, newspaper, manila envelopes, envelopes with plastic windows, brown paper bags, phone books, catalogs and magazines, corrugated cardboard, cardboard food boxes and carbon copy paper. Staples are also generally OK.

   Paper that cannot be recycled includes fast-food wrappers, waxed paper, waxed milk and juice containers, tissues, stickers, plastic-laminated paper, oil-soaked or otherwise contaminated paper.

4. Empty the recycling bins on a weekly basis. Designate a person to sort through each bin salvaging printer paper with a blank side that could be reused as scrap paper. Dump the remaining paper into an official outdoor recycling bin to be picked up by the city, or elect someone to take the accumulated paper to the city recycling center as often as the office needs.

5. Buy recycled paper when it comes time to order more.

Tips & Warnings

• Office recycling doesn't have to stop with paper. Plastics and aluminum are also easily recycled in most cities and can even bring in a small profit.

References

• The Consumer Recycling Guide: Commonly Recycled Materials

Resources

• Earth 911: Find Recycling Centers