There are two parts to this article, reducing plastics and saving money. Luckily they both overlay in a lot of ways. Let’s talk about reducing plastics first.
There is so much plastic in the oceans that in a few years we might have 1 lb of plastic to every 3lbs of fish. If that doesn’t terrify you, think for a moment how much plastic weighs. Now are you scared?
Outlaw, ban, refuse, bribe or whatever it takes to get rid of water bottles
Here’s a few figures about water bottles.
Americans used about 50 billion plastic water bottles last year. On average each person in America used 167 bottles a year; one every two days. But of that amazing number, only 23% were recycled. You know where the rest went.
Making those bottles used enough oil to fuel 1.3 million cars for a year. Oh and by the way, if you were to drink 8 glasses of water a day from the tap, you would spend about $.49 per year. If you have $1,400, yes $1,400, you could buy all that water in bottles.
And the saving money in the office thing…?
The answer is a water-cooler. No matter which way you look at it.
Use crockery, glasses, knives and forks
Yes, we know that they have to be washed, but you could invest in a nice energy-saving dishwasher. People manage to put their stuff in the dishwasher at home. Explain why you’re doing it in the office. People don’t want to use plastic, give them a way to avoid it.
Encourage recycling
Make it easy for people to recycle. Put bins around the place. Make sure that the office cleaners recycle what has been placed in the bins. Put up clear signage about what you can recycle and what you can’t. Even plastic bags can be recycled now.
You shouldn’t need a sweater in the office in summer
If you have control of the temperature, then take it up a degree or two. Each single degree rise in the office temperate equates to a saving – maybe as much as 10%. No one wants to have to go outside to warm up.
You should need an extra layer in winter
In winter it is supposed to be a little cooler. An extra layer should be needed. Walking around in shirt-sleeves when it’s below freezing outside is costing your company.
Ok, back to plastics and costs
There was an element of soap-box in the above two points, but really… anyway, another way you can save money and reduce plastic is by reducing the amount of plastic in promotional goods. Companies like custom earth promotions have thought of ways in which you can still be generous to your customers without increasing our dependency on fossil fuels.
Offices make such a difference
To rid our oceans of plastic we all have to care, and offices can make the difference – multiplied by the number of staff. Won’t you join in?
