Improving workplace sustainability doesn’t have to be difficult or frustrating when you have creative ways to promote recycling in the office. Between making it a friendly competition or adding an artistic element to it, finding creative ways to promote recycling can bring excitement to an office.
Office Recycling Initiatives
Implementing recycling programs at work can be a unique way to change up the workday routine. Below are five office recycling initiatives to try in your commercial office space.
1. Make it Easy
Let’s face it–when you’re at work, you don’t want more tasks added to your plate. Instead of implementing recycling programs at work that seem like just that–work–make them convenient. Make sure there are brightly colored or noticeable recycling bins near all work areas and dining spaces. To make recycling even easier, you can give staff members small recycling bins under their desks. This will push staff to recycle instead of lazily throwing their can or container into their garbage cans. Another way to incorporate easy recycling initiatives is to have a time at the end of every week when the entire team empties their recycling bins. This way, no one is left out and no bin is left unattended.
2. Make it Artistic
Though team-building activities often get eye rolls or dramatic sighs, incorporating creativity with recycling initiatives can build community and encourage sustainability. One way to add artistic flair to office recycling can be decorating the recycling bins. If each employee has a bin by their desk, they can use different materials to decorate it. This can either be a contest where a supervisor rewards the most creative bin or the decorations can just be unique to the bin’s owner. Either way, adding a little flair to your office space can make a more cozy work environment.
3. Make it Competitive
Competitions always bring out a person’s true colors and incentives help people form new habits, including recycling. Whether or not your team is naturally competitive, adding a little friendly rivalry is a great way to promote office recycling initiatives. If the office is composed of teams, the office can see how full the bins of each team are at the end of each week. Whoever has the most items in their bin could “win” something special.
4. Make it Tech-Savvy
With technology and apps ruling the world, it isn’t surprising there are apps that promote sustainability and recycling. Even though staff members shouldn’t stare at their phones all day long, a recycling app may be the exception. There are many apps that explain what can be recycled and what can be thrown away. There are also productivity and focus apps that help people stop checking their phones. These apps support plant life and can be added into the workday–for productivity and sustainability purposes, of course.
5. Make it Mean Something
Similar to the above point discussing apps, people do more if they personally feel connected to a cause. If the staff feel as if they are truly making a difference, they may be more apt to continue those actions in the long run. If the office works together in a unique way to support a local sustainability company or “fill the bins” for a charity, more people may step up. There may be a speaker or family who can visit and discuss how recycling changed their life in a positive way. A speaker often touches the hearts of those listening, acting as the gentle push to promote recycling your office needed.
