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RECYCLING

Even with effective waste minimisation measures, there will stall be a great deal of waste produced. Particularly for consumables, but also for products which are no longer serviceable or repairable, recycling extends the time over which raw materials can be used. Paper, printer cartridges polystyrene cups, drinks cans, glass bottles, telephones, and even cooking oil, are all workplace wastes which can be recycled. Facilities for recycling have increased rapidly in recent years and so has public interest. A CBI survey in 1979 showed that 47% of companies recycled some of their materials. A similar survey in 1990 showed an increase to 75%. As well as the environmental benefits of recycling there are financial benefits to the company through the savings in waste disposal costs and, possibly, through receipts for the sale of recyclable materials. Some local authorities are producing local directories listing the opportunities for recycling waste from commercial organisations, and it would be worth finding out if one is available in your area.

Westminster City Council

Westminster City Council operates a collection service for paper from businesses. Three lorries, 5 days a week, collect from 200 sites and 25 complete streets of commercial premises, including Whitehall, Buckingham Palace and the BBC. A further 250 businesses make use of the 'request collection' service when they have collected at least 100 kilos of paper.

Setting up a Successful Office Recycling Scheme

The essence of a successful office recycling scheme is sample - to collect together a sufficient quantity of a particular type of waste material, and find a merchant to take it away, either without charge or, in some cases, actually paying for the material However, in practice there are often problems to be overcome, and advance planning is essential, to ensure a scheme's success In a large company setting up a pilot scheme, on a modest scale, is a valuable first step which should enable problems to be eliminated at an early stage In particular, the four 'c's need to be addressed - communication, consultation, cooperation, coordination, as a successful recycling scheme will need to Involve all the staff of the company

Details for setting up schemes for particular materials are covered in Section 2

Communication will be needed in a number of areas - between staff and management, between the company and merchants, between office staff and cleaning staff, and between the coordinator or coordinating team and other staff Once established, the scheme will need to be built into induction programmes for new staff
Consultation - there will be things to be found out and discussed before setting up the scheme.
Cooperation - everyone |11 need to do their bit effectively for it to work, particularly in the sorting out of waste, such as types of waste paper
Coordination - a scheme will need one person or a team (the Green Team/Eco-team etc), depending on company size, to set it up devise communication systems, provide feedback, and measure its effectiveness

Recycling Plastics

Virtually all types of plastic can theoretically be recycled, but there are a number of problems associated with plastics recycling. The evidence is that there is potential for making significant energy savings by recycling plastics, due to the Intensive energy demands of primary plastic production. There are also gains through reduced pollution and solid wastes However, there are environmental costs in the collection and sorting stages of plastics recycling schemes. These are due to the number of different types, over 50 broad groups, and their light weight which makes transport costs relatively high for the value of the material collected. As a result, the economics of plastic recycling has been marginal, and recycling schemes for post-use plastics have only recently become established. Most discarded plastic Items will be landfilled where plastic is relatively inert. It breaks down only very slowly, and there is a possibility of long-term pollution problems, but these are not proven. Plastic litter is a more immediate problem because it does not degrade naturally.

Plastic's high energy value, as it is derived from oil, makes it a potentially useful fuel for energy generation through waste incineration, but there are environmental issues to be considered. There are many different types of plastic, and some are potentially much more polluting than others if incinerated. A particular concern is with the emission of dioxins and furans which result from burning of PVCs in particular. Oil is not the only material from which plastic can be made. It is now possible to buy pens and other items made from corn starch, which is a renewable material, unlike oil.

Thames Water Plc

Thames Water Plc sends plastic key boards from obsolete computer terminals for recycling. They are melted down and the plastic used for small articles such as rulers.

IBM

IBM has a worldwide goal of recycling 50% of all its non-hazardous waste. In the UK this target was exceeded in 1992.