by Erich Heinlein

Created on: August 13, 2010   Last Updated: August 17, 2010

It is no secret that office jobs require using lots of materials which are recyclable. So what can you do to help the world make a better place?. Don't use any more office supplies than absolutely necessary. This can also help reduce the office's overall budget. Here are some suggestions for what to do:

1.  Shred

If the published material is something that is considered proprietary information then you shouldn't be recycling anyways. It should be treated just like you would treat anything that is sensitive information to you. No way of telling what type of person could go into trash piles and pull up personal information on people or well, garbage on companies they don't like. Some companies  have policies about what information can just be thrown away and what has to actually be shredded. If you are new  to your current employer you may want to find out if your employer has one. Especially if your employer deals with sensitive information. One thing you can do is to go through each of the paper's every day and say yes I need this and know I don't need that. If it is a serious problem then it would be a good idea to bring your own bin and then throw the bin of papers at the end of the day into the office bin.

2. Bring your own water bottle and/or coffee cup

It is not uncommon for offices to supply water and coffee. Companies will often supply paper cups  for both coffee and water. One thing you can do to diffuse the need for either is to bring either your own coffee mug or if you regularly drink water bring your own water bottle. Not only will this reduce the amount of paper being used it will also help increase the office's budget for other things, such as employee raises. Bringing your own water bottle and drinking it throughout the day also can eliminate the need for having to buy things from the vending machines which saves people time, money and less stuff that has to be thrown away in general.

3. Recycle more than the obvious

There are other things that can be recycled beyond newspapers, cardboard, plastic cans and what you see on a daily basis. If you have a company cell phone and if your company decides they are going to upgrade it you can take it to either a local retailer or to the store of your cell phone carrier. They will often have places where you can recycle cell phones for somebody else to use at a future date. If you do this, just like with paper you need to make sure that all of the information in the phone is gone and that you have all of the necessary information in the new phone.

Another thing that can be recycled or given away is computers. Certain charities or schools are forever looking to get more resources and now is a good time to do a good deed. That is also assuming the computer is in good working condition. If you do choose to do this deed it may be a good idea to have your IT department take a look at it first to make sure it is in good working condition when you donate it.

The best thing to do when it comes to recycling is to avoid the use of anymore products than necessary. This will also avoid clutter in the office. Any necessary information that HAS to be kept should be kept on a backup disc or CD which is something that is considered to be a good computer practice anyways. So let's recycle and keep the earth green. In the office anyways.

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