An office kitchen compost plan is a great initiative that carries with it a responsibility to make it a good experience for all involved. Kitchener Clean’s Office Compost Program is tailor-made for today’s professional environment - contact us today to get started!
Office Kitchen Compost Bin Etiquette
Once you kickstart an office kitchen compost within your company, it’s a good idea to set up some basic standards of etiquette. This ensures greater participation in the program, as well as elevated morale among the employees. Here’s a few practical tips:
1. bin maintenance
Having the same compost bin for too long can create an unpleasant odour in the office. It’s important to swap out the bin frequently to help avoid this issue. Kitchener Clean, for example, will come to your office weekly or twice weekly to empty and replace your bins!
Additionally, you want to make sure you close the bin once you have deposited your food waste to seal the potential odour leakage.
You may also line the bin with an approved bag. In the Region of Waterloo, that includes:
Paper liner bags: Available at local grocery and hardware stores. These bags do not need certification logos. Some have a shiny cellulose lining to give them more wet strength. You can also use any other type of paper bag as a liner, such as paper take-out bags.
Certified compostable plastic (CCP) liner bags: These bags must have at least one of the logos below.
Line your bins only with approved bags.
2. Know what goes in the office kitchen compost bin
Everyone needs to know what can go in the green bin. Here’s a for your office list, according the Region of Waterloo’s Green Bin information page:
All food scraps including bones, peelings, shells, baking and cooking ingredients, spoiled and raw and cooked food (remove all packaging, stickers)
Small amount (no more than one cup per green bin) of liquids (Use our Cooking oil drop-off program)
Some paper products, such as paper plates, paper towels, facial tissue, greasy take-out paper packaging, paper baking cups, shredded paper
Be sure to type up this list and print it out for all to see. We recommend offering incentives or rewards to those who lead the way in participating in the program.
Do your part and everyone succeeds!
Knowing what can and can’t go in the green bin is key.
3. Maintain good bin-to-staff ratio
Unlike private residences, businesses don't typically have access to any formal office kitchen compost programs, meaning all waste is put into the garbage and sent to the landfill. It may not seem like it, but all that garbage can add up. For example. one Kitchener Clean client with staff of only 20-25 generated over 600 pounds of organic waste in just one year!
If you have a large office with many employees and eating areas, you want to make sure your bin capacity is in line with the demand. If the bin is too small or not easily accessible, it won’t promote healthy participation. For more on how to get started composting at the office, click here.
Make sure there’s enough bin space to accommodate everyone in the office.
Let Kitchener Clean Set Up Your Office Kitchen Compost
Kitchener Clean is a locally owned and operated family business. We treat our customers like we would treat our own family - with respect.
We value integrity, consistency, and thoroughness with all of our clients.
From its inception, Kitchener Clean has been an environmentally friendly office care company - we also use non-toxic cleaning methods to keep you, your staff, and your clients breathing cleaner!
Our reputation is important to us, so we guarantee all of our services. If for any reason you are not completely satisfied, simply contact us and we will return within 24 hours to address your concern at no additional cost. If we haven’t responded to any client communication within 24 hours of receiving it, we will offer you a free week of Office Care. We guarantee it.
“Kitchener Clean was chosen among multiple companies offering to provide services for our office. After months of ongoing service since then, we've always found them to be courteous, flexible, and of course, doing a good job of keeping the place in good shape!”
- Jason Hammond
Read more customer reviews here!
The Office Compost Program is available on its’ own or combined with a weekly Office Care and Cleaning service for greater savings!