It’s a sad fact, but every hour in the UK we produce enough rubbish to fill the Albert Hall. And what’s even more disheartening is that much of this waste need not make its way to the landfill site, as a surprising amount of this is recyclable.
What we do: Every member of staff has two bins here at Ocean consulting, one for general rubbish and another for paper
Why we do it: Every year a forest the size of Wales is cut down to supply the UK with its paper demand
What we do: These days, it seems everything comes in a cardboard box! Here at Ocean we are only too happy to be rid of them, and take them to a nearby cardboard recycling cage.
Why we do it: Cardboard can be recycled four or five times before it becomes unusable… and a harmless, bio-degradable pulp is all that’s left.
What we do: Glass bottles usually find their way into the office some Friday evenings, and can build up very quickly! We have a container for all glass recycling that is taken to the local glass bank regularly.
Why we do it: Glass can be recycled again and again without losing its clarity or purity, but in a landfill it remains indefinitely… never decomposing.
What we do: Nearly all printers these days have a ‘double side printing’ function on them; we make sure that we use this, effectively halving our total paper usage instantly.
Why we do it: In a year, a business of around 1000 staff uses a pile of paper high enough to exceed the height of the Empire State Building by nearly 170ft… around 10,000 sheets per person!
What we do: Ironically here at Ocean we drink like fish! All those empty bottles from the water cooler are picked up once a month by our kind supplier, reducing the cost to both them and us.
Why we do it: Plastics can take up to 400 years to break down in a landfill, and poison the surrounding soil for equally as long.
What we do: Much in the same way royalty only drink from crystal, at Ocean we only drink from glass. This saves on even needing to recycle the cups that traditionally partner the water cooler.
Why we do it: If you lined up all the polystyrene foam cups made in just 1 day they would circle the earth… many of which are thrown away the very next day.
What we do: Every staff member at Ocean has a reminder on their computer to switch off both the monitor and the unit
Why we do it: A monitor left on overnight wastes enough energy to laser print 800 sheets of paper, a computer wastes enough energy to microwave six dinners!
What we do: All around our office you will find leafy green plants. Not only do they add a splash of colour to the office but they are excellent at purifying the air of the toxins that leak out from all manner of electrical equipment.
Why we do it: A two year study revealed that the presence of plants caused a 12% drop in certain symptoms commonly found in the office environment (such as headaches, eye irritation etc)
What we do: All used ink cartridges we are recycled and a small donation is made to charity.
Why we do it: Less than a quarter of toner cartridges and only around 10% of inkjets are recycled in the UK. And yet, these bits of unwanted plastic are worth thousands of pounds to charities and good causes.
What we do: At Ocean we make sure that if something is to find its way into the bin, there really is no other means of recycling it. Unsurprisingly then, three-quarters of our rubbish usually goes into our recycling crates.
Why we do it: Each person in the UK throws away 1 tonne of waste each year… 60% of which is considered recyclable.
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