We all think of revolutionizations yet we all know that it all starts from our surroundings and the places where we live. We spend around 8 to 10 hours on average at our workplace. It means that one-third of our day is spent working.
If we talk about going green, there are a lot of different techniques we can opt to make our workplace environment friendly. Yet it all depends upon the determination and willingness to change our habits.
There won’t be any difference in our surroundings if we fail to change ourselves. Therefore, it is important to make a decision and have the guts to change ourselves. Else, we all are aware of the consequences we would face if we continue the way we are going.
In this article, you will get to know different ways you can make your workplace environment friendly. We will discuss the alternatives to the plastic made products we use at our offices. You will know easy methods of going green in the office by just making small changes and you will feel a drastic change.
Have reusable cutlery
Most of the offices have disposable plastic cutlery, cups and plates. However, if we really want a change, we should opt for reusable utensils. It does not take much time to wash the utensils. But it actually cuts down a huge amount of plastic usage. It is like a one-time investment.
Undoubtedly, the disposables are cheaper than reusable utensils and are easy to use. But we look for a longer run, you won’t have to spend much on the reusables. However, if you opt for disposables, you will have to spend money on a regular basis.
Also, we should not forget the fact that these disposables end up in the landfills causing unbearable harm to the environment for centuries.
If you really do not want to spend anything on the cutlery, what you can do is ask the employees to bring their food in the lunchboxes made of steel or iron.
Instead of plastic water bottles, use water dispensers
We all know how much we use plastic water bottles. We should at least opt for the alternatives where we won’t face any difficulty. Such as our homes and workplace. Instead of plastic water bottles, we can use water dispensers.
Though it is not safe to drink tap water in many countries, surely, the water dispensers reduce a lot of plastic usage. Therefore, the office spaces should definitely opt for them instead of providing plastic water bottles to their employees.
However, this does not mean that one should continue to use disposable plastic cups. The alternative for this is glassware.
Do not use plastic bins
In most of the office spaces, there is a small bin for each employee near his or her desk. Also, a huge dustbin can be easily found in the pantry or the cafeteria of the offices. Imagine if there are 100 cubicles in an office space and for each cubicle, there is a plastic bin. You can get an idea of the plastic being used by a single company.
Well, there are a lot of alternatives to these plastic bins. All you need to some creative people. These plastic bins can be replaced with cardboard boxes. These can be crafted in many different ways with different designs and paintings on them.
Find the stationery items that can be reused
First of all, do not use plastic made items that have no alternative. For example, the use of rubber bands should be eradicated. Secondly, you should encourage your employees to use items that are eco-friendly.
Refillable pens can replace the pens made up of plastic. Also, post-consumer products (the final product made from a used material) can be used in the workplace for small chores.
Invest in multipurpose device
Instead of spending money on different machines solving a particular purpose, invest in multipurpose devices. For example, there are different machines for scanning, printing, and faxing. Invest in one machine that solves all the purposes. This will surely save money as well as it will immensely reduce the use of plastic.
Use glass boards instead of white boards
We know that whiteboards are used in many companies during the meetings and team sessions. These whiteboards are made up of plastic. The blackboards and chalks are a bit messy. Therefore, a glass board is the best alternative.
Other green techniques to create an eco-friendly office space
- You can use the coffee filters made by recycled paper. Other than this, you can also opt for the coffee machines that do not require a filter paper.
- In the washrooms, you can replace the paper towels with a cloth towel.
- Use cloud storage instead of keeping hard copies of the documents. This will reduce the use of paper. If it is very important, print on both sides of the paper to reduce its use.
- Have at least one giant plant inside the office. Encourage your employees to place miniature plants like aloe vera, peace lily etc.
- Use CFLs or LEDs in the office. Also, keep the lights off of the places less used. We waste a lot of energy keeping the washroom lights on for the whole day.
Author bio: Manav Bansal works as a creative content writer at Tabscap. He has been writing on various topics related to social media marketing, digital marketing, travel, education and health. He also loves photography and finding new eateries in his surroundings.
