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Mar 14th, 2022 by Admin

How can you reduce plastic in your workplace?

Across the globe, we use plastic in such a shocking way. As consumers, we are stuck in the habit of buying products from our local supermarket or getting deliveries that come wrapped in plastic, and then throwing them away or melting them down in landfills.

Are you aware that over half of the world’s plastic is single-use packaging? 

Plastic can be reduced in many different ways, but the workplace is the one that struggles the most. This is because they cannot control everything that happens. 

Here are some simple and easy ways to reduce your plastic waste at work.

The use of single-use water bottles should be banned

Even though it may seem simple, it can have the greatest impact. In the UK, more than 7.7 billion single-use water bottles have been used and thrown away. Those bottles would then be found in our landfills (which take over 1000 years to decompose) or be melted down, both of which contribute to pollution levels.

Bans on single-use water bottles like Coke and Lucozade will encourage your staff to purchase reusable water bottles that they can use daily. 

You can figure out the amount that your staff spends on single-use bottles each year to motivate them to stop buying them. Share the results with them. It will be easy for them to comply once they see how much money they will save.

Install a water cooler

Install a water cooler

It would also be beneficial for your company to install a water cooler as it would eliminate the need to bring single-use water bottles to your office. It is simple to maintain a clean environment inside by recycling the water filters.

For the same reason, you could provide your employees with some drinking glasses to use and refill during the day and put them in the dishwasher at the end.

Encourage employees with incentives

To encourage your employees, you might want to consider creating company incentives. These incentives motivate employees to take action. Don’t you think incentive for reduced plastic usage will bring the most results? 

For instance, the winner could receive a prize if he or she had the lowest plastic usage of the entire team.

Request that your suppliers use less plastic packaging

Request that your suppliers use less plastic packaging

If your company receives way too much plastic in its deliveries, then a good way to handle this would be to ask them to use as little as possible.

Companies often fail to realize that we (the clients accepting these deliveries) have a much larger role in the delivery process than we normally think. Hence, you shouldn’t be scared to ask for changes or help.

In order to reach your plastic footprint reduction objective, all you would need to do is send a kind letter (since we want to maintain good relations) explaining your business’ plastic footprint reduction goals and how less plastic in the deliveries will help you achieve them. If you decide to move forward, you can provide guidelines on how you would like to receive deliveries in the future, as well as how plastic and waste costs would be reduced for both parties.

Instead of buying lunch, bring your own

Your food also generates a great deal of plastic waste, not just your beverages. Imagine bringing a salad throughout the week in a plastic container with a plastic utensil. Five containers and five forks would make nearly a full tower over a month. 

Imagine the number of plastic boxes you could build if everyone in your office did the same thing. Within the first year, you could quickly build a new office.

It would significantly reduce waste if you bought a lunchbox and brought sandwiches and snacks (shooting for as little packaging as possible). Even though it’s difficult to bring in food that isn’t pre-packaged in plastic for safety and freshness, reducing consumption of these would still have a positive effect.

If you find buying lunch easier because of time constraints, you can prepare your lunches the night before.

Invest in reusable items instead of disposable ones

Invest in reusable items instead of disposable ones

Since your employees are reducing their plastic use in the workplace and complying with plastic rules, it’s time to tackle the office space. 

It is simple to purchase dinner plates, glass cups, paper straws, and metal cutlery at your local home goods store if you find that your workplace is using single-use plastic cups, utensils, straws, and plates. 

Even if it seems inconsequential, those products with a reusable quality will help you reduce your plastic usage. A proper dinner plate and utensils are always cleaner than plastic ones, so eating at work will be a lot more pleasant.

 Inspire others with your success

Write a blog post about your positive results and post it on your company’s website or social media as a way to celebrate your success and motivate other companies to make a positive change. Besides showing your team how amazing they have been, you will also demonstrate how easy it is to make changes.

The first step in this process is to measure your plastic usage before you make any changes at all. After that, make a list of all the changes you intend to make, when you plan to implement them, and how you will do it- letting everyone know. 

Measure your plastic usage again after a significant amount of time. As many people as possible will be able to witness a dramatic difference. Using plastic less has caused your team, company, and you all to save a great deal of money. Use it as an incentive to motivate your online followers to reduce their plastic usage, so they can enjoy all the benefits you got from it as well. 

Additionally, by sharing your plastic-free achievements in the workplace, your company will have an edge over your competitors. In modern society, many people refuse to buy or work with companies that engage in animal cruelty, child labor, or use an excessive amount of plastic as they disagree with the morals of those companies, and they want the environmental impact of doing business with those companies to be lessened.

 Changing your routine to be more eco-friendly will improve your appeal to a wider audience, which in turn will increase traffic and clientele for your business.

Reducing plastic at work has numerous benefits. Not only are you helping yourself, but the environment too; everyone wanted to live in a healthier and more enjoyable environment. The goal isn’t to reach zero waste production as that is not possible for one company, but a big decrease will make a huge difference in the workplace.

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