February 6, 2023
Improving Overall Recycling Effectiveness is an All-Hands Effort
When reviewing a large sampling of our Waste Audit Surveys taken over this past year, we found that more than 50 percent of respondents said they have no one specifically handling recycling, which probably means these businesses are not recycling as much as they could be. Many said they have no formal program in place for capturing and diverting recycling waste.
Encouraging employees to participate in recycling programs can be a great way to foster a sustainable and environmentally conscious workplace. Mid America Paper Recycling can show your company how to take ownership with a customized recycling program that doesn’t require much extra effort. Here are six quick tips for getting your plant employees on board with recycling:
1) Lead by example: Start by setting a positive example and demonstrating the importance of recycling to the entire company, and how recognizing high-quality waste materials and managing those materials can reduce company costs and even generate revenue. These priorities will encourage your employees to follow suit. A great way to kick off this initiative is by taking our
Free Waste Audit. By auditing your recycling program, you and your plant personnel can determine what you’re doing right and where improvements are needed.
2) Make it easy: When we review the results of your facility waste audit, we discuss easy ways to involve the whole team to establish effective processes, training, and support for a continuously improving recycling program. Manufacturing operations can produce thousands of tons of pre-consumer, high-grade recyclable paper, production trim waste, and paperboard waste annually, which is valuable. This material can generate revenues, as opposed to being a waste item you’re paying to dispose of by a trash hauler. We can help you ensure that recycling bins are readily available and clearly labeled and that the process of recycling is straightforward and convenient to everyone, on all shifts. We also use our extensive industry connection base to find buyers for this material.
3) Educate your employees: Mid America Paper Recycling can help you educate your staff about the hidden benefits they can discover in their recyclable waste. We’ll provide information and training on the dozens of different grades of waste paper and types of board, the benefits of recycling and sorting this material, and why it's important to reduce plant waste.
“Our Waste Audit is a continuous improvement plan that sets goals and objectives for a continuous improvement process, identifying where waste is generated,” states Mid America Paper Recycling’s President Paul Pirkle. “We then establish key collection procedures and set objectives that continually improve the waste stream’s revenue contribution to their business.”
4) Create a recycling culture: Make recycling a part of your workplace culture by promoting it through company communications and organizing events that emphasize the importance of sustainability. Starting with a few steps to simplify and amplify the impact of the company’s eco-friendly initiatives and some encouragement can make a difference. Having one team member setting goals can help prioritize activities for preventing waste and expanding recycling programs. We may suggest relocating recycling bins to prominent locations, making them easier to access, providing helpful directions, and ensuring there are enough bins to handle the amount of waste generated.
5) Provide incentives: Offer incentives for employees who actively participate in recycling programs, such as rewards or recognition. This can motivate employees to make recycling a part of their daily routine. With our help, the staff recycling leader can monitor progress using the benchmark established in the waste audit to identify specific activities that can help the company reach its recycling goals, and regularly communicate with the rest of the staff about their role in recycling, which can reduce the amount of waste generated and increase participation. Mid America Paper Recycling can provide you with reporting that effectively benchmarks and monitors your recycling operations so you can create more company awareness of the recycling objectives, identify where the waste is generated, and set goals that will improve the waste stream’s revenue contribution to the business.
6) Get feedback: Ask employees for their opinions and feedback on the recycling program, and make changes as necessary to make the program more effective. Evaluating collection procedures and bin locations is one idea that can dramatically improve your recycling results. Ask your team for their input on the best bin locations. Ensure everyone knows what can and can’t be placed in recycling bins, especially those on the 2nd and 3rd plant shifts. By implementing these strategies, and talking openly about them with everyone, you can encourage your employees to actively participate in recycling programs and help create a more sustainable and eco-friendly workplace.
Mid America Paper Recycling can help you get started on improving your recycling processes by taking a free, quick survey -- https://bit.ly/2OI2o0Z. To learn more about Mid America’s Waste Audit, visit https://www.midamericapaper.com/waste-reduction-audit.
