Reduce Your Rubbish at work as well

7 July 2003

The Auckland Regional Council is encouraging people to reduce their rubbish at work as well as reducing rubbish going to landfill at home, with offers of practical support to businesses.

“At least 60% of solid waste sent to landfill in the Auckland region comes from industry, and much of that can be recycled or composted,” said ARC waste manager Allan Goddard.

“Staff members and business owners can do simple things to reduce rubbish in the workplace. The ARC offers support by helping you to link up with resources and networks to make reducing your rubbish easier,” said Mr Goddard.

ARC chairwoman Gwen Bull encourages everyone to take the lead at their workplace. “Sometimes all it takes is one person to look closely at these questions and think about solutions,” says Cr Bull.

Reducing workplace rubbish can lead to cost savings as businesses pay directly for rubbish collections.

Some quick tips to help people reduce rubbish at work:

- reduce paper use by sending documents electronically, using double-sided photocopying and printing and reusing one-sided copies

- reduce lunch waste by taking food scraps home to compost or set up a compost bin or worm farm

- recycle paper, plastic and glass in your lunchroom

- organise a recycling collection for office or factory paper and cardboard – check with your local council for options in your area.

Internet resources are available to help businesses reduce rubbish. Many go further to also offer tips on saving energy, transport improvements and environmentally preferable supplier policies:

- Going Green: Your Easy Guide to an Environmentally Friendly Office -http://www.mfe.govt.nz/withyou/business/going-green/ - for simple steps to get started and links to other green office resources.

- New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development - http://www.nzbcsd.org.nz/sdr/ - for information on sustainable development and triple bottom line reporting

- NZBCSD - http://www.nzbcsd.org.nz/zerowaste/ - information on Zero Waste and ideas on how to achieve it

- Businesscare - http://www.businesscare.org.nz/ - support for businesses to continually improve processes, products and services aimed at preventing the generation of waste rather than its disposal..

- RENEW – http://www.arc.govt.nz/arc/environment/waste-recycling/renew-waste-exchange.cfm - resource exchange service - list your materials that you want to give away, or look for others’ unwanted materials that you can use.

“The ARC and some local councils also provide further advice and support for businesses who want to reduce their rubbish – give us a call!” said Mr Goddard.

The ARC’s Big Clean Up programme is part of a nationwide Reduce Your Rubbish campaign running until July to encourage people to recycle and compost to reduce the size of their weekly rubbish bag.

ENDS

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