Recycling

Recycling is the practice of collecting used items so they can be converted into raw materials that can be used to make new products. New products from recycled paper instead of wood from trees is perhaps the best example. But we can also make such things as new bottles from recycled glass, car parts from recycled tin cans and road repairs from recycled roof shingles.

The Benefits of Recycling

In many U.S. cities, recycling is mandatory. Whether or not that's the case in your city, recycling is a very important practice. Some of the benefits include:

• Reduction of the waste dumped into our landfills


• Lower landfill costs


• Saves natural resources (such as trees)


• It takes less energy to produce products from recycled materials


• Reduces the hazardous waste that can pollute our water and air.

Recycling Office Paper

Research of the Environmental Defense Fund revealed that, on average, office workers each use 10,000 sheets of paper annually, and a large percentage of it ends up being tossed away as waste.

Offices should place recycling containers—clearly labeled as to what kind of paper goes in them and what doesn't—next to such locations as desks, copy machines, lunchrooms, vending machines, and the supply room and then motivate employees to participate in recycling. Shredded paper can also be put into the recycling containers, or it can be saved and used as packing material.

Recycling Electronics

Computers, cell phones, and other electronic gadgets all wear out or quickly become outdated. But discarding them in the trash that's headed for a landfill is a dangerous practice, as they are made of materials such as lead, mercury and nickel that are toxic to our groundwater and the air. However, electronic gadgets are also made of materials that can be recycled and used for new products. Today there are several electronics manufacturers that will gladly accept used items for recycling into their new product lines.

Recycling Batteries

In 1996, Congress passed a law to provide for recycling of batteries, known as the “Battery Act”. Like electronic items, batteries are full of lead, mercury, nickel, alkaline, and other dangerous elements. Laptop batteries are an exception in that they are usually lithium-ion and non-hazardous. Rechargeable batteries are nearly always manufactured from nickel-cadmium, which is hazardous.

Recycling Tips

Offices can sometimes participate in recycling programs that become a revenue stream. Therefore, it's important to appoint someone as the recycling coordinator to manage the process and motivate employees to participate. In addition to paper, businesses often collect aluminum cans and plastic for recycling. Ensure your collected items are clean, as contaminates can prevent them from being recycled. The mailroom and supply room are great sources of recycling materials, too, such as boxes and packaging materials.

By Kathleen Goolsby