National Recycling Week, Monday 12 to Sunday 18 November, is a great opportunity to get your workplace involved in new or existing recycling programs and other sustainability initiatives.

Having recycling programs in place is not only good for the environment but research shows that it is also good for staff morale with three in four employees agreeing that having recycling at work makes them feel better about their employer.

Six ways to get your workplace involved in National Recycling Week:

1. Review your recycling. You can’t change what you can’t measure. Have a look at how much you’re currently recycling. Is there waste that could be recycled, but isn’t?
2. Organic waste (food scraps, shredded paper, coffee grounds and garden cuttings) can be easily recycled into compost or worm castings for use in the garden.
3. Research innovative recycling programs like TerraCycle. They offer free programs, but also provide fee-for-service programs for difficult to recycle items.
4. Join ‘Cartridges for Planet Ark’ and ‘Mobile Muster’, free nationally available recycling programs for used printer cartridges and mobile phones.
5. Host a Friday File Fling. Hosting a Fling will help us get good quality office paper back into circulation and engages your colleagues in a fun, easy to organise event.
6. Buy recycled office products. Close the loop of the ‘circular economy’ by buying recycled products wherever you can. 

Not the boss? Do a bit of research and use National Recycling Week as the perfect opportunity to approach your supervisor with these ideas.