Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Deconstructing the Mantra

Part One: REDUCE

December 15, 2009

The sad fact about business waste is that somewhere along the line, that item in the trash can was budgeted and paid for. It may have been used, but possibly not to its potential. Now it’s sitting in the trash, and as soon as it’s out the door, another similar item will occupy its space in the bin.

Investigate Options

Research can be a valuable tool in waste reduction. Johnson and Johnson changed the weight of a paper used to package a gauze product from 30 pound paper to 28 pound paper. Waste reduction equaled 115 tons of paper. The money saved amounted to $450,000 annually. In addition, by researching the packaging on another product used to contain medical sutures, Johnson and Johnson found a way to eliminate an aluminum pouch that saved 83 tons of aluminum foil amounting to an additional $300,000 in annual savings.

By promoting recycling in the Airport Business Center office park in Clearwater, Hallmark Development has made it easy for dozens of businesses to reduce the landfill waste they produce. The program’s success has had a positive effect on Hallmark’s bottom line – the office park has replaced fourteen 8-yard waste containers with twelve 6-yard waste containers, representing approximately 36% in waste reduction.

Heinz and one of its suppliers, Graham Packaging, have reduced the fuel consumed between their plants by moving the plants within three miles of each other. This has saved 26 million gallons of fuel each year. In the last four years that same partnership has resulted in the rapid development of numerous lightweight initiatives in both bottle weight and barrier materials ultimately yielding a reduction in material consumption by 1.8 million pounds over the last four years.

Looking for ways to reduce waste in your business? Here are some ideas.

Purchasing:

• Select products with little or easily recyclable packaging.
• Purchase reusable items instead of disposables. Examples include mugs, silverware, dishes, towels, rechargeable batteries, refillable pens, erasable wall calendars, and reusable coffee filters.
• Buy durable, repairable or recyclable products – and buy only what you need.
• Avoid individual condiment packets – use salt & pepper shakers and other containers.
• Centralize purchasing and enforce all waste-reduction policies.
• Green your cleaning products and ink cartridge supply.
• Purchase or lease copiers and printers with 2-sided capacity. Set the default to double-sided copying/printing. Require double-sided printing for multi-page documents.

Operations

• Instead of printing, e-mail meeting agendas and documents to all participants before a meeting. Use a white or blackboard to post the agenda.

• Discourage circulating paper copies of documents.
• Use software that allows you to fax directly from your computer so you can avoid printing the document and using a cover sheet.
• Eliminate duplicate subscriptions. Circulate a single copy of a publication among your staff.
• Remove your staff members and company from junk mail lists. Click here to learn how.
• Keep your own mailing lists current. Suppress duplicates in address databases.
• Proof documents on your computer rather than in print form.
• Order supplies by e-mail or phone rather than by fax or mail.
• Design fold-and-mail marketing materials that require no envelope.
• Use continuous-circulation envelopes within your business.
• Instead of making duplicate copies of reports, memos, newsletters and other documents, print one copy and circulate it around the office. Or, post the information on an office intranet site.
• Encourage employees to share software manuals and phone books. Order only what you need.
• Recycle or rehabilitate old computers. Find reputable companies through sites like Earth 911 and Tech Soup.

Production

• Design products with reusable or recyclable components.
• Eliminate unneeded packaging – avoid shrink-wrap by using alternative methods to divide large quantities of brochures such as rubber bands.
• Use lightweight, recyclable or reusable packaging.
• Print messages on your products that encourage consumers to reuse or recycle the packaging/product.