Let’s face it, for many, a large portion of the working day is usually spent within the office. Thus, whether it be an individual space, or shared, a lot of materials and resources are used and disposed of in these environments daily. That is why it is essential to enact environmentally friendly habits when working in the office space. While people are taking gradual steps to do so within their homes, shouldn’t this also be an important practice in the office space as well? Moreover, the benefits would not only reflect positively on the environment, but they would inevitably build the company’s ethical standing as well as people would generally place higher value in a company that takes efforts towards going green. Another bonus is that this could ultimately save the business a lot of money in the long run! While some ecological advancements may seem expensive at first, they save a lot more energy in the long run, and grant a longer lifespan to reusable materials that would otherwise be thrown in the trash. Here are just a few quick and simple ways to keep the office space eco-friendlier and improve everyone’s overall ecological footprint.
For one, implementing recycling bins and containers will highly encourage individuals to think twice when disposing of their waste. Often times, people will not think to recycle if they do not see any places where they can do so. Throwing away recyclable materials such as paper and plastic is seemingly that much easier when recycling bins are non-existent within the area. In the same fashion, this is similar to the potential reasoning as to why people are more likely to liter when trash cans are scarce. This is why recycling bins could definitely change the game and will certainly make it easier for employees to remember to recycle! This is perhaps one of the best ways to encourage and regulate recycling.
A few other ways to implement environmental sustainability is by unplugging electronics that are not being used, cutting off the lights inside of rooms that are not occupied, using reusable water bottles, powering down electronics at the end of the day, using non-toxic cleaning products, and having plants within the space to recycle air.
One of the biggest contributors to solid waste material however, is paper. And despite progressive movements to go digital, paper is still a highly used resource. As mentioned previously, the use of recycling bins can help decrease the amount of paper being wasted daily. In fact, the location of recycling bins can play a huge part in the reduction of paper waste as well. For example, placing recycling containers beside printers would greatly encourage individuals to recycle unwanted paper. If the office space is bigger, then maybe consider putting recycling bins in multiple locations if possible. Other ways to reduce paper waste include only printing when necessary (try to use digital tools such as email when sharing documents), printing on both sides of the paper, and using recycled paper inside of printers.
But there is one piece of environmentally friendly technology that is essential to offices working to move towards eco-friendly and sustainable work spaces; shredders.
Now, when people typically consider the benefits of shredders, they view them as a great means of security which only makes sense in that their primary use is to shred documents and materials that may contain highly classified information and data. In this way, they largely decrease the chances of important information being stolen and misused. Yes, while it is true that handling sensitive documents is one of their biggest appeals, this is only one of the several benefits that shredders can have within the office environment. In fact, shredders can actually be large eco-savers too! Not only do they condense the amount of paper being disposed of, thus decreasing the overall volume of discarded material, but the shredded material can be recycled and made into new paper for additional usage, especially with the implementation of proper shredding practices, recyclable shredder bags, and increased bin capacity. Proper shredding practices include working with a shredding company that ensures that shredded documents and materials are recycled and disposed of correctly. Using recyclable shredder bags and waste bags make it easier to recycle the shredded paper, as opposed to disposing of it altogether. Lastly, increased bin capacity reduces the amount of shredder bags being used, which doubly helps the environment.
Shredded paper also makes a great material for mulch and composting, as it could help alleviate some of the odor caused by green composted materials (fruits and vegetables) and add more density to the mulch. There are even bulk material shredders that shred bulkier items that regular paper shredders would not be able to shred. An example of such, are cardboard shredders which, as their name suggests, shreds pieces of cardboard, a commonly accumulated material that could very quickly build up in any office space from mail and packages. Frequently, cardboard is collapsed and tossed into dumpsters and to eventually be placed into landfills. Instead of throwing them away, these pieces of cardboard can be shredded and re-purposed as packing material. Some even use regular shredded paper as packaging material as well! After all, there is always a high preference to have shipped materials packaged carefully.
In these ways, shredders can be an essential product to have within the office for not only security purposes but for eco-sustainability too. Nevertheless, moving towards an environmentally friendly office space could be a big change, but it doesn’t have to be a difficult one. There are various ways to take gradual steps towards going green, and every one of these steps can certainly make a difference!
Below are just a few of our shredders that could assist in making your office as eco-friendly as possible!
HSM Classic 225.2 High Security L6 Cross Cut Shredder
The 225.2 Level 6 includes all of the standard HSM Classic features, making it reliable and easy to use. This shredder can shred up to 12 sheets of paper per pass and produces 12,064 particles per sheet, satisfying the highest security level available.
HSM Classic 411.2 L6 High Security Shredder
The largest in the HSM Classic series, the 411.2 Level 6 is a high security shredder that is TAA compliant and NSA-EPL listed, which meets the requirements for government agencies. Standing at 38 inches tall, the 411.2 can shred paper loads from multiple users, making it very efficient.
HSM ProfiPack C400 Cardboard Shredder
The C400 cardboard shredder is a great economical option for packing material. This cardboard shredder takes pieces of cardboard and creates shock absorbent netting that can be wrapped around or folded tightly with packing items. This shredder would make a great addition to any office!
HSM Securio B35 L4 Cross Cut Shredder
The B35 cross cut shredder can shred up to 26 sheets of paper per pass without having to remove any staples or paper clips. This shredder can additionally shred credit cards and CDs/DVDs in the specially marker slot. With a large 34.3 gallon waste bin capacity, this shredder is a great step up from a personal shredder to a busy office shredder!