Maximizing Recycling Efficiency: Best Practices for Businesses

Efficient recycling is a planet-friendly act that any business, regardless of size, can accomplish. If you think your business could be more efficient in your recycling efforts, be sure to keep reading.

Sure, having a few recycling bins around the office is better than nothing. But if you want to run a business that’s kind to the environment, there is so much more you can do. And the best part is that it won’t take much additional effort from you or your employees. It’s a win-win all around. In this article, we’ll look at the benefits of maximizing your business’s recycling efficiency and review seven easy steps you can take to put that efficiency in motion. 

Benefits of Maximizing Recycling Efficiency

The benefits of recycling are widespread and far-reaching. Recycling cuts down on waste, keeps materials out of landfills, reduces the need for virgin materials, lessens carbon emissions from resource extraction, and provides a reliable feedstock of materials for companies, like Verdeco, that produce high-quality recycled materials.

And while the positive impacts on the environment are noteworthy, maximizing recycling efficiency can also be good for your business. Programs that work towards a greater good can create a positive work environment and reduce your company’s carbon footprint. Plus, recycling efforts may also provide opportunities to qualify for business grants. So, how should you go about it? We’ve outlined the steps below. 

7 Ways to Maximize Recycling Efficiency for Your Business

1). Conduct a Waste Audit.

To improve recycling efficiency for your business, it helps to have a baseline to understand where you’re starting. A few helpful metrics to help you get started include: how much waste your business is currently producing, how many recycling bins are in your place of work, how much recycling material is generated, and how often recycling is collected. It is also a good idea to understand your employees’ baseline knowledge of recycling. 

2). Make Sure Recycling Bins are Visible and Easily Accessible.

You already know recycling bins make it easy for employees to recycle. But, are there enough in your place of work? Ideally, everyone would take the time to take their plastic bottles and extra paper copies to a recycling bin. However, if that bin is out of their way, they’re less likely to use it. That’s just a fact. To maximize your recycling efficiency, ensure plenty of recycling bins around the office. 

3). Determine What Materials Can Be Recycled.

If your local government or municipality handles your recycling materials, it is important to double-check which materials can be recycled. Tossing only those materials that are accepted by your local recycling entity is key to keeping the entire recycling process running smoothly. Some facilities only take certain types of plastic, while others will not accept glass at all. Whatever the rules may be, equipping yourself and your employees with this knowledge is an excellent way to raise your recycling efficiency and effectiveness. 

4). Coordinate With the Cleaning Crew.

Unless someone in your business is specifically tasked with taking out the recycling, it’s a good idea to coordinate with the cleaning crew for your building or office space. Discuss a regular recycling collection schedule, ensure that they have durable, reusable recycling bins to use, and ensure that collection logistics are effectively communicated. 

5). Educate and Engage With Employees.

For employees to be fully on board with your business’ recycling efforts, it is vital to educate them and keep them engaged in the process. This could be as simple as posting a list of accepted recyclables next to recycling bins, sending out regular emails reminding them to recycle, or hosting a kick-off event to encourage proper recycling and to generate interest in the initiative. Any effort to educate and involve employees will produce better results. 

6). Have Fun — Make it Competitive.

Speaking of engaging with employees, why not make recycling fun? Inject friendly competition into your company’s recycling efforts by initiating a weekly or monthly recycling competition between departments. Who can recycle the most paper? The most plastic? Which department threw out the least waste? Offer fun incentives that will motivate your employees. Improving your company’s recycling efforts doesn’t have to be a tedious endeavor. Find creative ways to make it fun! 

7). Continually Reassess Your Recycling Efforts

Optimize your company’s recycling efforts by assessing your program on a monthly basis. Take a look at your logistics, education efforts, and engagement to see what’s going right and identify things that could be improved. Regular reviews give you a chance to dig into your program and make changes that get your company closer to your recycling goals.

Verdeco’s Recycling Innovations

At Verdeco, we encourage businesses to invest time in creating robust, efficient recycling programs. When more recycled materials are available, there’s a better chance for recycling innovation — which is where Verdeco comes in. We take one of the most used plastics in the world, PET, and reimagine its recycled possibilities through innovative solutions. Our recycled PET stands toe-to-toe with virgin PET. This means companies never have to sacrifice quality and durability for the sake of being environmentally friendly. These groundbreaking solutions are changing the way that businesses view rPET, and the ripple effect of positive change is just beginning. 

To learn more about how Verdeco is changing the world, visit verdecorecycling.com.