When my daughter started Kindergarten, I was shocked by how much waste her little lunches produced. We did so well that I decided to see if I could reduce office waste in my home.
Let me tell you, reducing the waste in my office was harder than I thought. When I realized how much electricity and paper I was using, it was hard to know where to start. Here are the ways I created a (near) zero waste office.
Table of Contents
How To Create A Zero Waste Office
Use less paper and set up e-billing if possible.
I like to print out invoices to have on file for everything, which quickly adds up. Instead of printing out a full page for each invoice, I have started a simple spreadsheet where I can put multiple, similar invoices together. For example Client A has a sheet just dedicated to them, with space for the invoice number, date, notes, amount received and amount set aside for taxes. I still have an electronic copy of the invoice, but by combining many invoices on one sheet I print a lot less. Plus, I have a nice sheet for my taxes with all the pertinent information. I also set up e-billing to reduce paper usage.
Buy sustainable products.
I started looking for sustainable products to replace my current products when they run out. When I could not find sustainable products, I looked for companies with environmental policies and initiatives. The impact may not be as direct, but by supporting companies that care about the environment, I will help the overall mission.
Buy used.
When I had to replace my office chair I went on local buy/sell Facebook groups to see if someone had one they no longer needed. Not only was I able to reuse an item that would otherwise go to the landfill, I also saved some money.
Recycle.
I was not able to get a zero waste home office, but I am recycling most of what remains. Did you know that you can recycle more than just paper and plastic? You can also recycle your e-waste. In Canada, SC Johnson responsibly resells or recycles 100 per cent of its e-waste and surplus IT equipment, including hardware. There are also e-waste recycling centres for households as well. No need to throw out that broken monitor.
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We reuse and recycle as much as possible.
Me too.
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we use recyclable bags
We scrunch up all boxes and containers before putting them in the garbage.
We reduce waste by reusing most things for another purpose
We recycle, reuse, and compost.
Reduce, reuse, recycle. This is how we live!
we use a compost bin, and recycle. we make less then a green garabe bag a week with a family of 6, one in diapers
Recycling bags. Thanks
The town I live in has a fabulous recycling program. We have bins…(paper, plastic, cardboard ect).. to separate all our garbage into. There is also a bin for food refuse. I also look for the least amount of packaging material when purchasing products.
Holy batman, we do ebilling to reduce paper useage, & waste. Wow, prize pack is fab. & splendid. 2 fingers snap. It is tight, fly & off the chain. Thank you for the awesomeness, the contest, and generosity. 🙂 Pick me, pick me!
we recycle everything possible.
We use a composter and we recyle paper, bottles, cans, anything we can.
We recycle as much as we can.
Lots of recycling, watch the packaging we get with the stuff we buy and we are mindful.
I repurpose a lot of things, recycle and have 2 composters going
We reduce waste by bringing reusable bags when we go grocery shopping, those little plastic bags can add up overtime!
I recycle and try to repurpose before I donate useable items
We reuse wherever possible, donate rather than throw out, shop local and participate in municipal recycling
by recycling
We recycle! Bottles, cans, paper, cardboard, computer monitors, etc.
We are very green with 4 composters, we recycle everything we can with 4 blue boxes and minimal garbage.
We reduce, reuse and recycle as much as possible
We don’t use the plastic sandwich or snack bags or saran wrap.
I always use recycle bags when shopping for groceries and other household products!
Our family recycles and reuses things as much as possible.
We compost our scraps and love to buy used items at thrift stores.
we reduce as much as possible
We try to recycle everything we can. My kids also love to play and color boxes before they are recycled.
We recycle and compost (and donate) where we can
We recycle and separate our throw aways into compost and garbage. Our area has greatly reduced the amount of trash ending up in the dump.
We have a great multi-container system that the kids made posters for showing what goes in each container and each poster is unique and shows our kid’s styles 😀
We place what can be recycled into recycle bins.
We try to reduce the amount of trash we put out by recycling paper, plastic, metal, glass products.
We recycle and compost!
We always reduce, reuse and recycle. We pass things on to others to use, we use our green and blue bins, we donate items, we try to not buy individually packaged items but make individual servings in reusable containers.
we reuse as much as possible and pack litterless lunches
I recycle plastic bags for my cat droppings and also for my trash.
Thank you so much for this post! I’ve been slowly working towards zero waste in my home and am finding the hardest room to be the office…. I switched to a dry erase board to jot notes down on, have an electronic billing system, and buy used when I can. But I’m still finding that I have way too much paper. I shred/compost what I can but it’s still a lot. So I’m really happy that I’m not the only one who hasn’t been able to go fully ZERO waste.
We separate out everything that can be recycled from the waste, and we donate anything that is in good condition but that we no longer use.
use recyclable bags
We reuse a lot of things including clothing. We also love to recycle everything possible.