Office waste takes off

British business called to drop their "rubbish attitude" at work

June 2005

Today sees the launch of a 35ft paper aeroplane over the City of London to mark a national campaign, by government-funded Envirowise, to reduce the amount of office waste. The plane is made up from the astonishing amount of paper an office worker gets through in just one month that is 1584 sheets of A4.
Paper usage is rising by around 20% every year¹, with the average office worker using approximately 50 sheets of paper every day in the typical office. That is aside from other paper waste such as newspapers and magazines that they may read.

Wasting paper is not only a drain on our environment but is also a burden on most companies bottom line they are wasting money with every piece of paper they use needlessly, comments Envirowise Programme Director Dr Martin Gibson. He adds, We have worked with a business of just 40 staff who saved 40,000 a year purely through paper minimising initiatives.²

Envirowise experience shows that in a best practice small office, employees will use as little as 15 sheets of paper a day compared to a less resourceful office where each person can squander a staggering 100 sheets of paper per day. This means that many companies have the potential to reduce costs and help reduce environmental damage. Cutting down on paper usage would help to reduce the 5 million tonnes of printing and writing paper UK businesses are estimated to throw away each year.³

Dr Martin Gibson continues, In our experience, most businesses dont think enough about how much they are paying for items they are throwing away. We believe there is tremendous scope for reducing waste in offices.

In addition to the financial savings that can be made through paper reduction there are a number of other areas where offices can benefit by reducing waste and making more efficient use of resources. To help businesses take the first steps to saving money and reducing their environmental impact Envirowise recommends considering the following no cost or low cost measures:

1. Think before you print! Do you really need to print that document or make so many copies of it?
2. Set your printer to print on both sides of the paper by default. It will automatically reduce the amount of paper you use and thus reduce your paper budget.
3. Use recycled paper rather than virgin paper.
4. Use 80gsm paper sheets rather than thicker paper and avoid printing on flash paper unless you really have to. The thicker the paper you use the more paper you waste.
5. Encouraging staff to re-use and recycle, through staff awareness training.
6. Re-use scrap paper.
7. Issue documents electronically rather than in paper form.
8. Nominate a waste champion to implement and promote waste minimisation within the company.
9. Set up an employee suggestion scheme to generate ideas.
10. Use key performance indicators (KPIs) to set performance targets which can be measured.

The plane launched over the City will be recycled by Pearce Recycling.

In order to help businesses minimise paper wastage and maximise profits, Envirowise has launched a free online savings calculator, www.maximiseprofit.org.uk. Businesses simply input a few basic details to the calculator to reveal what sort of savings they could make. In addition to paper costs, the calculator also advises on other potential office savings such as ink, waste disposal, water, heating and transport.

The user-friendly guidance provides businesses with straightforward, affordable ways to reduce waste. It also includes information on how to arrange a free, confidential visit* from an Envirowise expert to identify low cost, high value solutions and help get your waste minimisation programme started.

Note 1: Envirowise publication Green Officiency: Running a cost effective, environmentally aware office.
Note 2: Envirowise publication Green Officiency: Running a cost effective, environmentally aware office.
Note 3: Based on the Oxford Group cascase study, a small consulting and training company:Waster Online website.

* Please note that different services are available in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales – please contact our Advice Line on 0800 585 794 for more information on whether you are eligible for a site visit.