Do it with resources
Every business is different so the waste reduction solutions for your business will be unique.
Over time, Recycle @ Work will add more detailed tools to this website, but here are some ideas to get you started.
- Find your barriers
- Think History
- Good? Better? Best?
- Be Smart
Find your barriers
There are always barriers to changing things – some big, some little, some practical, some just perceptions.
Most problems come from our natural human resistance to change. To begin with, people can see change as a nuisance or a criticism and may respond by finding reasons to resist. This is perfectly normal and no reason to give up. It can help to involve everyone as much as possible and listen to their input, ensuring you keep everyone focused on the commitment to reduce waste.
Think History
1. Gather good data on your business’s waste history to make your case for waste reduction as strong as possible.
2. Also think it terms of the ‘history’ of things as they come into, go through, and leave your business. Even if you are service industry and do not ‘make’ anything, you will still use equipment and consumable supplies. For each item, think in terms of these questions and how waste might be hidden in each of them:
- Where does it comes from?
- How do you use it?
- How do you store it?
- How do you account for it (ie administration)?
- How do you dispose of it?
Good? Better? Best?
Some experts recommend asking yourself to find the good, the better and the best responses to each waste problem and use these to work out an approach that suits your workplace:
Here are two examples:
| OFFICE PAPER |
|
| Good option |
Recycle after one use |
| Better option |
Reuse for draft copies |
| Best option |
Reduce paper use by using electronic publishing. |
| FOOD WASTE |
|
| Good option |
Compost food waste |
| Better option |
Send surplus food to charity |
| Best option |
Change facilities and procedures to prevent spoilage. |
SMART Targets
Every waste reduction effort can be helped with some well chosen targets or goals. Many waste experts suggest using the S.M.A.R.T. rule to choose your waste reduction targets:
| S |
Specific |
| M |
Measurable |
| A |
Achievable |
| R |
Realistic |
| T |
Timely |
Source: Much of this material was based on information in the Victorian Ecorecycle program’s Manufacturer’s Waste Reduction Manual.
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