Archive for paper recycling
Recycling in the workplace never looked so cool
Posted by: | CommentsWhile statistics show that many people have greatly ramped up their recycling efforts there is always room for improvement. While many workplaces have added recycling practices that make a huge difference there are still far too many that don’t make much if any effort. Frequently in office environments paper is still added to the general refuse when of course it could easily be recycled. Estimates range that unwanted paper and documents still account for as much as 50kg per 100 members of staff each week in offices that don’t recycle.
Paper use has declined as many companies have enacted policies that raise awareness and make recycling just as simple as disposal, however a new invention designed for the workplace might encourage many more to take part in good recycling practices.
A company called Dulsco have launched a new line of garbage receptacles that include separate compartments to isolate waste as plastic, paper or organic all in the same unit. Incredibly logical but also incredibly effective if you ask me. It makes the localized collection in the workspace easier and processing the waste to larger recycling collection containers much easier. Paper is the primary aim for offices as it should be, modern paper recycling methods show that the lifespan for paper can be extended to six or seven generations before the fibre is too long to provide suitable strength.
The trend is encouraging though as data compiled by the American Forest and Paper Association shows that just over 57% of paper consumed in the US in 2008 was recovered for recycling. While that still leaves room for improvement it towers over where things stood a decade ago.
Dulso make a full range of recycling containers from those suitable to a small office or the home all the way up to the large storage bins for commercial use. I must confess I wanted to feature these new ones because they look so unique. In addition while I’m all for inventions that make recycling easier it would be almost as easy to initiate a similar scheme in your workplace. Does your office recycle paper, plastic, glass and organic materials? Can you help to make a difference? As if we needed more evidence of why paper recycling matters I reviewed some statistics today that reminded me in full. According to The Public Recycling Officials of Pennsylvania, for every ton of paper that is recycled, the following are saved:
- 17 trees
- 275 pounds of sulfur
- 350 pounds of limestone
- 9,000 pounds of steam
- 60,000 gallons of water
- 225 kilowatt hours
- 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space
Those numbers above all else should provide the motivation to ensure that you recycle paper.
Tags: American Forest and Paper Association, dulsco, forestry management, how much paper is recycled, landfill, lifespan of paper, paper lifespan, paper recycling, paper recycling statistics, paper waste, recycling ideas, recycling inventions, recycling news, recycling receptacles, reduce water consumption, sustainable business practices, sustainable product, water consumptionWaste Paper? Meet your destiny….”White Goat”
Posted by: | CommentsThis has to be seen to be believed and fortunately I have a video to include so that you know it’s not just a fanciful idea. I used to work at an 
office where over 600 employees occupied 3 buildings on a corporate campus, regrettably (and as recently as 2006) it was an environment that created an obscene amount of waste paper. We used to have training classes with 60 page staff manuals on paper, I’d attend meetings where in addition to the powerpoint presentation 15 or 20 of us might be watching we would each be handed a twenty page ‘deck’ so we could follow through the presentation from paper on our laps simultaneously! Sadly there were a high number of employees who were very ‘old school’ and emails containing policy or updates just didn’t exist to them unless the clicked their print button, hiked over to the printer and grabbed a paper copy to hide within a draw at their desk. It’s not real unless I can touch it seemed to the mentality.
Within the office they gradually moved to a situation where every 50 feet or so a giant blue paper recycling bin for paper would stand sentinel hoping that a small percentage of the forests destroyed in the name of profit might find their way back to paper mill for reproduction. To be fair some people even asked what these five foot tall plastic receptacles were for, as the months rolled on some people even started adding paper into them. Unfortunately just as many people filled their desk side trash cans on a daily basis with scraps and memos that never needed to be printed in the first place.
I won’t name the company for fear of causing outrage, let’s just say it’s a large and well known company who really should have enforced stricter recycling policy. By the time I left the company, when used to worked later in the evening I would see the cleaning crew come in and empty those recycling bins and would be pleased to see that ‘participation’ rates were beginning to improve. I wish that this product existed 5 years ago as I would have written to our executive board insisting it was considered for our office as well as the dozens of other equally large facilities throughout the world. It’s called White Goat and is named very appropriately.
In short it is a paper shredder designed specifically for large offices that create a significant amount of waste paper. That with water will pulp all waste paper and remarkably turn it into toilet paper. All of this from the same unit! It only takes 40 sheets of A4 paper to make one roll of toilet paper. The manufacturer estimates that ‘running costs’ will equate to about $0.10 per roll of paper. I believe that the company are only accepting pre-orders presently as the product was only recently unveiled at a Japanese ‘eco-trade’ fair late last year.
Watch out for staples!!!
Green Gazette (Issue 30) Christmas waste…..room for improvement
Posted by: | CommentsHello again, however you celebrated the holidays I hope they allowed you some time with friends and family and the opportunity to relax a bit before you leap right back into the treadmill we all typically experiemce. In this neighbourhood we have alleys behind the house for refuse collection and it was while taking the trash out this morning that I was (unhappily) astounded at the increased levels of waste from seemingly every house on the block due to the holidays.
Thus I was scouring the internet for some useful (and current) stats about the waste that the Holidays create. The only very recent data (2008) I could find was for the UK – but if you translate the numbers and accept that the UK has about one sixth the population of the US and Canada combined it gives you a good idea of what we’re looking at. Before asking you to read on, please know that I simply love numbers and statistics so this is one of those chances where I just devour the information on offer. So, with that said, here are some statistics for the UK for 2008 (population 61.4 million)
Multiply by about 5 or 6 for North America!!
- The Royal Mail (the postal service in Britain) deliver approximately 150 million cards and packages each day in the two weeks leading up to Christmas.
- Estimates suggest about 1 billion Christmas cards (17 per every person in the UK) will ultimately end up in the trash
- 8.1 Million Christmas Trees were purchased, fewer than 20% will be recycled
- The UK will throw out about 85 square km of wrapping paper this season, enough to cover Manhattan and wrap most of the skyscrapers within it!!
- Can and bottle use (and waste) increases by over 125% for the month of December in the UK
- Around 125,000 tonnes of plastic packaging will be thrown away over Christmas
- About 3,000 tonnes of aluminium foil are used to wrap Turkeys to cook this month
These are just the easy to measure stats of what the holidays can create in terms of waste. When we receive new clothes are we disposing of the clothes they may replace or donating them for future use? The same can be said for electronics, appliances and household furnishings. Recycling is not a chore – I think its a duty we really all share. If consumption is a by-product of our society surely the appropriate disposal or recycling of items is the least we should be doing.
Not to be a grinch, but does every 10th house in this city need (literally) thousands of lights burning all night long to show the holiday spirit?
Within 10 miles of here you can take the family out to see amazing displays of hundreds of thousands of lights at The Zoo, The Train Park, Downtown and other special displays. At some point it must reach overkill surely if every house is trying to enter the competition? If you are going to have lights at least put them on a timer, not many people are driving around here enjoying the lights at 2am after all.
As with most things, its all in the planning.
Tags: cardboard recycling, christmas lights, christmas tree recycling, christmas trees, energy conservation, energy wastage, Manhattan, paper recycling, planet forward, recycling clothes, Royal Mail
