Page 491 - Solid Waste Analysis and Minimization a Systems Approach

POTENTIAL TECHNOLOGIES AND STRATEGIES 469

■ Establish waste and recycling agreements with nearby businesses—Businesses that
operate in business centers or industrial parks can achieve significant cost savings
by consolidating waste hauling and recycling contracts. Business tenant meetings
or board meetings are appropriate venues to discuss these options.
■ Create incentive programs for employees—Motivating employees to recycle is one
of the most important components of any waste minimization program. Offering
awards to top-performing units or individuals can help achieve this goal. The
awards may include money, corporate logo gifts, paid time off, or public recognition.
A company-wide luncheon or breakfast may also be provided if the organizational
waste minimization goals are met.
■ Set defaults to double sided for copiers—Studies have shown that setting copier
defaults to double sided may reduce paper waste by 40 percent. Most copiers are
set to single sided and users must select double sided.
■ Use paperless fax machines—Send files electronically to fax machines and set
defaults to not print a fax confirmation.
■ Provide employees with desk-side recycling bins—Providing each employee in the
office with a desk-side recycling container will enhance motivation to recycle. The
container will serve as a visual reminder to recycle and reduce travel time to a con-
solidated recycle bin. The advantages of desk-side recycling include the maximum
potential for collecting the most amount of paper for recycling and provide the most
convenient method for employees to dispose of both recyclable and nonrecyclable
materials. Disadvantages include the potential for contamination of recyclable papers if
trash is disposed of into the wrong bin and the initial cost incurred for extra recycle bins.
■ Provide employees with periodic newsletters—These letters may contain informa-
tion on recycling performance trends for the company, and announce awards and
new programs.
■ Appoint a “green cop” to monitor individual employee performance—Designating
an employee to police the material entering the waste stream and recycling bins can
motivate employees to follow proper procedures. The individual should be instruct-
ed to report all findings (conformance and nonconformance) to managers and other
employees.
■ Shredding of confidential documents—Establish a relationship with a vendor to
recycle shredded paper. Many waste removal and recycling companies offer con-
fidential shredding services. Ensure that the company is certified by the National
Association of Information Destruction (NAID). NAID offers a certification pro-
gram on a voluntary basis to all NAID member companies providing information-
destruction services. Through the program, NAID members may seek annual
certification audits for both mobile and plant-based operations in paper or printed
media, micromedia, or computer hard drive destruction. The NAID certification
program establishes standards for a secure destruction process including such areas
as operational security, employee hiring and screening, the destruction process,
responsible disposal and insurance.
■ Implement reverse recycling—An emerging concept involves eliminating desk-side
waste bins and only providing employees with desk-side recycling bins. The custo-
dial service is instructed to service only recycling bins at employees’ desks and the