Waste (Paper)

Office workers can get through 50 sheets of paper a day, with several studies suggesting that much of this is wasted printing that goes straight in the bin. Overall this contributes to 80.6 million tonnes of printing and writing paper entering the waste stream each year in the UK – 24% of total UK waste. Contrary to the expected trend towards a 'paperless office', paper consumption continues to rise by 20% each year. The average office worker uses up to 100 sheets of paper every day in a typical office, half of the waste is paper-based. Paper is therefore a major purchasing and disposal cost to the average office, yet it is a cost that can be brought down easily through reduction, reuse and recycling.

Use the Calculating Use and Cost of Paper diagram to determine the paper waste costs for your organisation.

There are a number of key environmental issues associated with virgin paper production, such as loss of natural habitat and damage to water tables due to intensive tree farming, high chemical and energy use in manufacture and finally detrimental effects from the land filling or incineration of paper waste. Paper is a natural resource that can be recycled up to five times, substantially reducing these impacts. By buying locally produced, recycled paper, you can help boost the market for recycled products, which will in turn support the recycling industry and the need for unnecessary virgin imports. There are a number of standards and labels that classify paper according to its raw material content and manufacturing process.

Before you buy paper ask the following questions:

• What is its recycled content?
• How much post-consumer waste does it contain?
• Has the environmental impact of its manufacture been minimised?

Recycling best practice

General

• Close the loop by buying recycled products where possible
• Get together with other local organisations to make the collection of recyclable products more economical
• Establish clear senior management commitment to resource efficiency – problems will occur if recycling is not seen as an integral part of an organisation’s greener operations

Glass & Cans

• Use contacts within any local authority for information on glass and can collection services or go to SWAG (Scottish Waste Awareness Group)
• You may be able to receive revenue on aluminium cans through a specialist contractor eg: cash for can campaigns
• Provide separate bins for cans, brown, green and clear glass to ease collection
• Install a can crusher if the volume of cans used is high

Other Materials

• Buy remanufactured toner cartridges – high quality cartridges are available with the same performance as new cartridges at a lower cost
• Ink cartridges and mobile phones can be recycled using pre-paid envelopes through a specialist remanufacturing company or charity-run scheme
• Arrange for fluorescent tubes to be recycled or safely disposed of in small quantities