GREEN TIPS FOR THE OFFICE

By The Waste Trade Company

Start with yourself and lead by example when making recycling a habit and not a hassle!

PROVIDE RECYCLING BINS
To encourage easy and convenient recycling at the office, provide appropriately labelled bins for paper, plastic, metal and glass. Join a waste management organisation that can assist with supplying the bins, the collection, transport and recycling of your office waste. Contact The Waste Trade Company on 041-486 2110 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for an assessment.

DISPOSE OR DONATE YOUR E-WASTE
E-Waste  (like PCs, cell phones, TVs, calculators, etc) is either refurbished or disposed of in an environmentally safe way. Dispose of your e-waste at a local collection point like Makro, Pick & Pay or  Incredible Connection who are currently running e-waste initiatives. Visit the Electronic Waste Association of South Africa (eWASA) ‘s website www.ewasa.org to find a collection point near you or e-mail  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for general information.

SAVE & RECYCLE OFFICE PAPER
Put a paper recycling station/bin next to every printer, copier and fax machine so that employees can deposit unwanted paper in them. Instead of throwing away old documents, shred them and reuse them as packaging material in shipments

Reduce the use of fax cover sheets, since details are usually in the letter itself!
Re-use scrap paper printed on one side for taking notes, instead of using new sheets.
Refrain from printing and making multiple copies of large documents with summary pages. Rather read documents on your computer and encourage sending digital copies of documents via e-mail instead of printing them.

INVEST IN REUSABLE PRODUCTS
Purchase rewritable CDs and DVDs so that you can reuse them from project to project
Use refillable pens and ink cartridges
Buy rechargeable batteries. It takes 1,000 regular batteries to equal the lifespan of one rechargeable battery.

PROVIDE WATER DISPENSERS
Save on expenses and reduce the generation of plastic container waste by providing employees with filtered drinking water and reusable / biodegradable paper cups, instead of bottled water.  Contact Vibrant Aqua on 041-581 0497 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information on buying or renting water dispensers.


CREATE A GREEN COMPANY CULTURE
Trees are a symbol of life, a lasting gift that cleans our air, sinks carbon emissions, reduces erosion, reduces noise and is also the main source of one of the highest consumable products – PAPER.
As a Business, be responsible and give back to the earth by participating / supporting projects like Food & Trees for Africa by sponsoring the buying and planting of a tree.  Visit the website on www.trees.co.za or contact Mary-Ann on 011 656 9802/3 for more information.
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