Recycling
Every tonne of paper recycled saves 13 trees.
Recycling not only reduces the amount of waste to landfill, it also contributes to sustainable resource use.
Most of us try to manage our waste in the kitchen, but we may not be as good with waste management in the home office. It’s just as important to recycle paper from your home office as it is to recycle bottles and cans from the kitchen.
Managing waste in your home office
Remember to reduce, reuse or recycle in the home office wherever possible.
Purchase items that have minimal packaging. Choose compact discs and DVDs that are re-writeable.
Your printer cartridges may be able to be refilled. There are a range of companies that provide this service but check with the printer manufacturer whether this will affect your warranty.
Home office items which can be recycled include:
- Paper – simply add to your recycling bin
- printer cartridges
- computer equipment
- mobile phones
- telephone books- place in your kerbside recycling bin
Have a special bin in your home office for recycling.
You can reduce the amount of energy used in the home office too. Turning off your computer equipment rather than leaving it in standby mode reduces greenhouse gases and will help reduce your electricity bill. For more tips to save energy in the home office, click here.
How to reduce paper waste in your home office
- Think before you print. Ask yourself, “Is it absolutely necessary to print this document?”
- Set your printer to print double-sided. If you can't print double-sided consider printing two sheets to a page.
- Recycle any waste paper.
- Reuse paper that has only been printed on one side. Collate all the paper and use it again for printing on the other side, making homemade notepads or for children’s drawings.
- Use paper with recycled content
