When we are going through our daily lives and tasks, we often have to give sustenance to our bodies in food and water. Since food is mass-produced and prepackaged, we often have to toss out these packaging and any left-over food after consuming these products.
However, our daily consumption of both perishable goods and everyday use of devices and objects have taken a toll on the environment. This is especially true in workplaces, where the daily consumption of goods is higher than in residential areas. As such, we have to do our part in keeping our environment clean. But what can we do?
Waste Management is Important
Since eating and consuming goods is part of our necessities, we gradually produce waste and rubbish every day. It’s known that the average person (especially those in the United States) will have 2.2 kilos of trash every day. When it comes to Australia, the nation is known for 64 million tons of rubbish in a single year.
While some types of rubbish will eventually decompose, there will also be waste that will take more than thousands of years to decompose and be detrimental to the environment. What’s a solution to the build-up of non-biodegradable materials? Recycling plants and repurposing discarded raw material are known to being popular solutions to this problem.
However, it’s not all the time that most of these non-biodegradable materials will go to recycling plants. Some businesses and companies won’t care much about segregating their waste and instead focus on more aspects to profit. Trash has accumulated so much in the past few decades that a huge patch of garbage is just floating off the Pacific Ocean. It’s quite apparent that trash doesn’t just affect the lives of animals and marine creatures, but also has a major impact on the climate and human life.
So what are some ingenious ways of keeping your workplace clean, tidy, and conducive for any type of work? Here’s what you’ll need to know:
Go Digital
Non-biodegradable waste doesn’t necessarily mean that most rubbish is plastic. In an office environment, paper waste is one of the most common waste products. Whether it’s shredded, crumpled, or burned, paper can become a severe problem for landfills.
Getting sick can have dire consequences for most employees and can often lead to most businesses grinding to a halt, especially with the world’s current state. Most virulent agents can easily stick to almost any solid surface, such as paper and documents.
Going digital is an excellent way of ensuring that information and data can be easily accessed without wasting paper. In some cases, companies will incorporate cloud storage and project management platforms since it’s easier to consolidate information in a more digital scene. Moreover, fewer trees will need to be cut down to be manufactured as paper.
Invest In Equipment
There is a plethora of different equipment that you can invest in that can help with waste disposal and management. Installing a water filtration system near your workplace or water dispenser can also help with less waste being produced. Instead of buying bottled water, workers can just use water from these filtration systems.
Of course, a part of keeping your facilities clean and free from any known forms of hazardous materials, you’ll need to invest in waste management and garbage disposal. Most experts in the field of sanitation would suggest installing outdoor rubbish bins right outside your workplace and any facility that will get a good amount of foot traffic from both employees and customers. The easy-to-handle and pick-up features of these bins can make the lives of sanitation experts easier.
Reuse The Right Materials
It’s important to note that K-cups, coffee cups that are often used by trendy cafes, cannot be recycled. Some companies will provide merchandise in the form of reusable water flasks and bottles instead of having to use plastic cups and utensils.
Providing silverware and “permanent” utensils instead of flimsy cups and spoons for your workplace’s pantry and the cafeteria is a great way of minimizing plastic usage. Each person that has their own utensils is also responsible for cleaning it, which can encourage responsible cleaning in the workplace.
There are different ways of maintaining cleanliness in the workplace. Whatever industry that you might be in, having a clean working environment can help optimize your work in being more productive. In addition to all these, having a maintaining a good waste disposal regimen can also mitigate any disease-carrying agents that might accumulate close to rubbish bins. After all, safety and cleanliness are the tops priorities in almost any workplace around the world.
