Office composting Kitchener: Ready to go green in your workplace? Today, we’ll go over five tips for going green in your office, including getting started with office composting.
At the Office Compost Program, we are dedicated to helping business owners across Kitchener-Waterloo help make a greener cleaner earth. We’re happy to share what we’ve learned with you.
Today, we’ll take a closer look at how to go green and why it matters in Kitchener, Waterloo, and surrounding areas. Let’s get started!
Office Composting Kitchener: Why It Matters
In the Kitchener-Waterloo area, compost is only picked up from residential buildings, not commercial properties.
That means businesses have to throw their organic waste into the garbage along with all other waste, which is then sent to a landfill.
Organic waste cannot properly decompose in a landfill
Unfortunately, when organic waste such as food scraps goes to a landfill, it cannot decompose properly.
Instead of quickly decomposing and forming compost/soil, it very slowly decomposes in a landfill and releases methane - a powerful greenhouse gas.
So, What Can My Business Do?
Wondering what you can do about this? Office composting allows businesses to take control of their organic waste and divert it away from landfills.
The Office Compost Program works with businesses of all shapes and sizes in Kitchener to help create a greener, cleaner earth.
The Kitchener-Waterloo area is home to a wide variety of industries, including the fastest growing tech sector in Canada. Along with tech companies, Kitchener is home to:
Manufacturing plants & businesses
Finance & insurance companies
Health care services
Retail trades
Construction services
And many more
All of these businesses typically have large office spaces or commercial buildings. With many employees spending 40+ hours of their week in the workplace, that’s a lot of meals eaten in the office!
Ensure that leftover food from the office is properly disposed of with composting
Since commercial properties typically have to arrange for their own waste removal, working with a composting company can even help you save money.
As only dry waste will be thrown out in garbages and “smelly,” quickly decomposing food waste will be put into Green Bins, your garbage won’t fill up as quickly and won’t urgently need to be removed.
This means you can cut down on the number of times your waste management company removes your garbage per week.
Businesses in Kitchener can choose to start composting their organic waste with the Office Compost Program. Get the best office composting Kitchener has to offer - contact the Office Compost Program today!
4 more Tips For Going Green in the office
Office composting is an excellent way to join the green office movement and begin working towards a more sustainable workplace.
However, it is not the only thing you can do! As employees and consumers alike become increasingly interested in working with sustainable companies, it’s important for businesses to keep up.
Here are four more tips for going green in the office!
1. choose reusable items & products
The office is full of one-use items. It’s not uncommon to see paper cups, plastic cutlery, styrofoam plates, and even office supplies like staples.
Choose reusable items, like coffee mugs, instead of disposable ones
Whenever possible, choose reusable items instead. It may take a bit of an initial investment, but you will save money in the long term - and help the environment.
Buy reusable mugs - Ditch the plastic or paper cups and buy reusable mugs. You can get dozens of unique and attractive mugs from thrift stores for less than $1.00 each!
Give out reusable water bottles - Many offices stock up their fridges with bottled water. Instead, gift your employees reusable water bottles instead. You can even get custom-made water bottles with your company logo and information on them!
Consider reusable office items - Did you know you can buy pens that allow you to refill the ink? That means you won’t have to buy a new pen when the ink runs out! You can also choose to use paper clips or binder clips to keep reports together instead of staples.
Want to learn more about reusable office items? Click here.
2. save energy at the office
By becoming more conscious of the energy used in the workplace, you can change your practices and make your office more eco-friendly.
Keep blinds open and turn off lights during the day - make use of natural light!
Consuming less power - whether that’s through electricity or gas - means producing fewer toxic fumes.
Energy has to come from somewhere. It comes from power plants. And the more power plants run, the more fumes are released into our atmosphere and environment.
There are many ways you can save power in the workplace:
Turn off lights when not in use or when there is enough sunlight
Turn off lights when leaving the office overnight
Ensure all taps, toilets, etc. are not running or leaking
Turn off computers at the end of the day
Purchase smart plugs (so you can adjust lights/power from anywhere!)
Lower A/C or heat when not in the building
Looking for even more ways to save energy in the office? Click here.
3. choose non-toxic cleaning products
Have you ever walked into your office only to be greeted by the harsh smell of cleaning chemicals?
It’s not a scent most people enjoy! Chemical cleaning products leave an intense odour in the air, but that is not their only issue.
Non-toxic cleaning is better for your employees and the environment
Chemical cleaning products are known to cause issues such as:
Respiratory irritation
Eye irritation
Nausea
Headaches
Worsen asthma symptoms
Long-term health effect (e.g. cancer)
Instead of using traditional cleaning products, there are many non-toxic alternatives that are just as effective but don’t produce the same potential side-effects.
You can even create your own DIY cleaning products from common household ingredients like vinegar and baking soda!
It is important to remember that some DIY products may clean effectively, but may not be able to sanitize as well.
If you want to switch to non-toxic cleaning, it’s a good idea to work with commercial cleaners who use non-toxic products and methods. That way, you know you’re getting the most effective clean every time.
4. go paperless (when possible)
Depending on the type of workplace you’re part of, it can be impossible to go completely paperless in the office.
There are simple ways to go paperless - for example, take notes on a whiteboard!
However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t cut down on the amount of paper you use on a daily basis! There are many ways you can reduce your paper usage, including:
Take your meeting notes on a shared online document, such as Google Docs
Instead of printing off papers for employees to sign, create and use interactive PDFs. Then, store the files on your computer.
Skip printing off employee pay stubs and email them instead - it’ll save you the printed paper and envelopes!
Make use of the cloud and create a thorough online filing system
For more tips on going paperless in the office, click here.
Office Composting Kitchener - Join The Green Office Movement
For the best office composting Kitchener has to offer, you can rely on the Office Compost Program.
At The Office Compost Program, we help businesses all over the Kitchener-Waterloo area take big steps in the right direction by helping them compost their office food waste!
Contact us to learn more about how you can get started today.
“WE ARE CURRENTLY USING THE COMPOST PROGRAM AND THEY HAVE BEEN GREAT AS OUR COMPANY HAS GROWN AND OUR USAGE INCREASED. VERY FRIENDLY AND TERRIFIC SERVICE!”
— Julie G, Big Road