Things to Do at the Office to Help Save the Environment

You’ve heard it a million times before: help save the environment, recycle, go green, and at this point, you are probably hearing “blah, blah, blah.” After all, the scope of the problem with the environment here on Earth has gotten pretty bad. While that may be true, there is plenty you can do, particularly in the work office, that will directly impact our environment in a positive way.

Just think about it: if everyone in offices across the world did a little to contribute, we could help save our planet from being overburdened with trash and maxed out if it’s resources. Try a few of these ideas, knowing your helping. Pass it on.

Change your paper wasting habits:
Everyone wastes paper at one time or another in the office, but it doesn’t have to be that way. If you are doing something that is for your eyes only and won’t be circulated from boss to boss or client to client, try printing your notes on one side of paper and then use the back of the paper for something else when you are done with the first side. And if you are printing off things to review, try to consolidate to use as little paper as possible, rather than printing out a sheet for every single idea. Be sure to recycle your paper when done with it.

Invest in Tupperware:
Rather than going out to lunch every day to pick up take-out which is full of waste from Styrofoam boxes and plastic lids on your cups, consider eating at the office. Bring a prepared lunch in a container like Tupperware that can be reused day after day. You’ll save the environment and a little cash.

Empty, don’t disregard:
Ask your cleaning crew if they’ll just empty the contents in your trashcan rather than pull out and throw away the plastic trash bag that lines your trash. Why would I need my plastic trash bag removed and replaced with another one when I only have a few things in it? Think of all the plastic trash bags that could be prevented from heading to the trash dump if we didn’t use them in the first place?

Respect the water cooler:
If you have a water cooler at your office, make sure you only take what you are going to drink. Don’t waste it. (this goes for water out the faucet too!) Water is a precious commodity in other countries so don’t take it for granted. Although we’re fortunate in the United States, there is no guarantee that it will always be there. Let’s not waste what we have.

Think of what a great impact you can make on our environment just by following these few simple ideas. Our future children are counting on us to preserve the earth that they will inhibit later on. You want it to be a good place for them don’t you?