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Waste in the office

Office wastage

Once upon a time waste in the office was not thought about as something that needed to be controlled. Back in the day when polyester, double knit suits were fashionable, and Johnny Farnham was belting out “raindrops keep falling on my head”. Offices were a happy, smoked filled environment. And no thought was paid as to whether this was the most productive, safest or waste-conscious places to be.

Travel forward 40 years and while John Farnham is still around many other attitudes are thankfully not. Today offices are no longer filled with smoke, safety and productivity are things to be embraced and office wastage, is something to be controlled.

But some things still have not changed, we still have a bin at every desk. We still have those three drawers to store who knows what? And we still spend most of the time sitting down.

So whilst sitting down!! I have come up with a couple of ways office wastage can be managed.

Waste or waist?

I know I have spoken about this matter before in another blog…., but waste in the office is a subject that lends itself to being repeatedwaste in the office

We have our small bins under every desk. Ensuring that we can get rid of anything that may clutter our desks.

But it does reduce our thinking about the waste and we put everything into it. Everything from paper, old half-filled coffee cups, chewing gum and food scraps all end up in the same place.

A better idea would be one bin in the middle of the cubicle or office. One for recycling and another for non-recycling.

This would cut down on the number of bins in the office. It would also encourage people to think about their waste and give the added benefit of having to get up out of their chairs and move to the bins. This gives you the added benefit of exercise, I’ve read sitting is the new smoking, so you’ll be doing yourself a favour

Power down

This is not just something we may do on the weekend as we chill out. But something to be mindful of whilst we are in the office also.

If I got paid a dollar for every time I found a computer powered up as I carried out an office clean, I would be able to comfortably retire.

We have computers left on. Printers buzzing away to themselves. Fluorescent light tubes burning 24hrs 7 days a week. Microwaves and coffee machines blinking away. And even aircon and fans keeping an empty building cool. All of this adds up to a drain on the power system and a drain on the pocket of whoever pays the bills.

When you leave the office for the day, why don’t you switch off anything that is not needed? You never know you may get that pay rise you crave because of all the money you are saving. Or if it is too much trouble, get timer plugs that will do the job for you

And please if your computer needs to be of an update or anything, lock it. It’s not hard to hit the funny key with a windows emblem and hitting the L at the same time, this will ensure that no one can access your personal accounts.

Just remember Earth hour 2019 is still a few days off, so you have time to unplug and help our environment.

Of if need some help or information on how NRE can help you with your office waste or cleaning requirements, then give us a shout.

 

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