The corporate world is full of problem solvers—so implementing a plan on how to create a zero waste office should be a straightforward deliverable. But average office workers produce about 4.5 pounds of waste per day which adds up quickly, especially in large companies.

As they say, a less cluttered space means a less cluttered mind, which means a more productive workforce. And nothing quite gets the corporate world’s attention more than a productivity hack.

Personally or professionally, transitioning to a zero waste lifestyle is an ongoing process that is never complete so the question isn’t so much, “How do you go zero waste in the office?” but rather, “How do you start a zero waste office?”

Fortunately, any size business—from a one-man Etsy shop to a blue chip tech firm with thousands of employees—can start with a few simple zero waste office supplies and practices.

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Contents: How To Create A Zero Waste Office

  1. Recycling, Trash, & Compost Dividers Jump to section
  2. Recycled Toilet Paper & Refillable Cleaning Products Jump to section
  3. Carpool, Bike, Or Use Public Transport Jump to section
  4. Switch To Sustainable Lighting Jump to section
  5. Buy Ethical Electronics & Recycled Old Ones Jump to section
  6. Bring Reusable Containers, Dishware, & Cutlery Jump to section
  7. Use Electric Hand Dryers Jump to section
  8. Pick Sustainably-Harvested Desks & Chairs Jump to section
  9. Refillable Or Recyclable Pens & Markers Jump to section
  10. Used Recycled Office Supply Paper Jump to section
  11. Compostable Tea Bags & Refillable Coffee Jump to section

Zero Waste Office Tips

Recycling, Trash, & Compost Dividers

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As goes with learning anything new, whether it be an instrument or how to drive a car, learning how to implement zero waste office tricks starts with the absolute basics.

Making a conscious effort to correctly separate materials into trash bins, indoor compost bins (or at least collector bins if you plan to actually compost elsewhere), and recycling bins makes a huge impact on minimizing office waste and carbon emissions.

Did you know nearly 40% (or 100 billion pounds) of all food goes to landfill in the U.S. each year? Not only is this devastating from a social perspective, but environmentally, this food waste generates toxic methane gasses by sitting in landfills. By doing something as simple as making sure to properly divide waste, recycling, and compostable goods to create a low waste office, we can help divert materials to their appropriate places.

Recycled Toilet Paper & Refillable Cleaning Products

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The company bathroom is a wasteful place and while you can’t do anything about one type of waste generated in there, you can reduce the waste of the products used inth e bathroom.

Switching to eco-friendly toilet paper is perhaps one of the easiest to implement. Companies like Who Gives a Crap supply a plastic-free, recycled solution while also building toilets for communities in need with the profits.

Then don’t forget the zero waste hand soap to wash up afterward—without the plastic bottles and nasty chemicals. While employees might not be keen on sharing a bar of soap, etee and Plaine Products offer easy, refillable liquid options.

My Personal Review of Who Gives A Crap’s Recycled Toilet Paper:

“WGAC’s recycled TP is soft, strong, and septic-safe. Made from 100% recycled paper, it’s a much better deal for the planet. Plus, the colorful paper wrapping really jazzes up the bathroom and can be repurposed for all kinds of crafty things”.

Review by Amber McDaniel, SJ’s Head of Content

Carpool, Bike, Or Use Public Transport

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Sustainable practices to reduce waste in the workplace can begin before you’ve even stepped in the office for the day.

The typical passenger vehicle emits about 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. Imagine if, say, four coworkers created a carpool and cut four of those vehicles down to one for a year. That’s a lot of CO2 saved—not to mention gas money.

If you live close to work, opt for walking or biking. If you’re further away, but live in a town or city that has decent public transportation, hop on a train for your daily commute and pop on a podcast for the ride in—the Sustainable Jungle Podcast, perhaps? Bosses can encourage employees to do this by providing free transportation passes or subsidizing a public transportation budget.

Switch To Sustainable Lighting

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Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could all design the green office building of our dreams, complete with a rooftop garden and living walls?

While most of us aren’t so lucky, there are some things we can easily do to greenify the phsyical spaces in which we work.

There are few things worse than sitting under a fluorescent, flickering light for nine hours in an office—especially considering 20 watts of CFL is equivalent to a 16.5-watt LED bulk. We might as well go back to the Dark Ages. One of the best zero waste office tips is to utilize energy-efficient LED sustainable light bulbs to reduce waste we cannot see: energy waste. Energy consumption aside, they also last 25,000-35,000 hours, compared to a CFL’s 8,000 hours.

You can pair these energy efficient bulbs with sustainable lighting fixtures, like recycled metal or upcycled options.

If your office doesn’t have automated lights which use sensors to detect movement, having a ‘last person turns the lights off’ policy can end up reducing a substantial amount of office related emissions.

Buy Ethical Electronics & Recycled Old Ones

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Electronics accounted for 54 million metric tons of e-waste in 2019 and it’s projected to hit 74 million metric tons by 2030. Valuable, natural resources are pulled from the earth only to be tossed back, unusable.

If you’re looking for quick and smart solutions to a zero waste office, considering how to dispose of electronics in a more responsible manner is an e-Excellent place to start.

If they can’t be repaired or resold, recycle them. Local libraries, electronics stores, and sometimes grocery stores have designated bins to make sure those precious metals don’t litter our precious Earth.

When it comes time to replace them, do so with more sustainable options. While the sustainable electronics market is still burgeoning, it’s growing (like everything in the tech sector) at 5G speeds. When it comes to shoppinf new sustainably, definitely looks for an eco-friendly printer, especialyl since they’re another one of those electronics that too often break and end up in landfill instead of being recycled.

Epson’s EcoTank printers are made with fewer components meaning they’re less likely to break. They also come with refillable ink cartridges and use 83% less electricity.

Bring Reusable Containers, Dishware, & Cutlery

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A zero waste lifestyle is easier to implement in your own home, where you have more control. There’s nothing simpler than saying no to single-use and yes to reusables.

Break rooms are a major area where waste reduction strategies come into view, and making sure there are adequate utensils, plates, bowls, and water glasses means no one will be reaching for those styrofoam cups in the back of the cupboard.

If your office doesn’t supply them, make a habit of bringing your own eco-friendly cutlery. Carrying a water bottle also saves plastic water bottles and the need to do dishes. Packing your own lunch in plastic-free food storage containers—like upcycled jars or Stasher silicone sandwich bags— reduces waste and plastic takeaway containers.

Use Electric Hand Dryers

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While paper towels are compostable, they’re still single-use products that do not add to a waste-free office. Reusable cloth alternatives are fine if you work from home, but they’re not as feasible (or hygienic) for offices with multiple employees.

While they still use energy, looking into a hand dryer could save you an extra 30 seconds (time=productivity, right?) as well as reduce the burden on the environment (as compared to single-use paper towels). The Dyson Airblade is the most energy-efficient, low-impact hand dryer out there, which uses high-pressure cold air to dry your hands.

Zero Waste Office Supplies

Pick Sustainably-Harvested Desks & Chairs

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What could be more fun (and sustainable) than decking out your office space with sustainabnle furnishings—or at the very least, an eco-friendly desk. After all, you spend a LOT of time sitting at your desk, so why would you want to be potentially breathing in harmful VOCs from unsustainably sourced wood all day?

There’s all kinds of reclaimed and vintage hardwood desks out there to be, or you can go much more modern with an FSC-certified desktop and recycled plastic base from the likes of Hoek Home.

When you want a sustainable office chair that’s good for more than just spinning around, keep an eye out for options with Greenguard Certification to ensure no harmful chemicals.

Refillable Or Recyclable Pens & Markers

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Now fill your new desk with sustainable office supplies and essentials like pens and paper.

With 9 billion plastic pens globally being tossed annually, it’s time we make a (ball)point of refillable eco-friendly pens. Lamy offers modern and minimalist refillable pens or you can channel the writers of old by using a vintage fountain pen.

For presentations, Auspen supplies aluminum whiteboard markers and offers replacement ink as well as fresh nib tips that can go fuzzy and flat eventually.

Used Recycled Office Supply Paper

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We know how detrimental deforestation is to the environment at the expense of paper usage, but in our new digital world, we just don’t need to print off as much as we used to. But for those few odd bits and bobs that require physical signatures (or that recipe you can’t print at home) recycled paper is one of those essential zero waste office products.

In 2018, the U.S. recycled 68% of all cardboard and paper, which saves both trees and energy.

There are several eco-friendly stationery brands making use of all that recycled material—like Printworks’ recycled printer paper or Worthwhile Paper’s notebook, planners, and paper tapes.

Don’t forget to print double-sided to reduce paper use and use the “draft” setting to save money on ink.

Compostable Tea Bags & Refillable Coffee

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Did you know that a single tea bag made with plastic releases 11.6 billion microplastics into your cup?

We would never suggest giving up your daily cuppa, but we encourage offices to stock zero waste tea that comes in compostable bags or loose leaf options (in which case don’t forget the tea steepers).

If you’re on the coffee train and you aren’t keen to drink the stereotypical pot of coffee that’s been sitting on the burner for hours (or worse, single-use coffee pods that result in SO MUCH packaging waste), hopefully the office provides a machine for personal brewing. There are plenty of eco coffee makers out there like a french press or ROK manual espresso machine.

At the very least, equip the Keurig with reusable pods or the coffee machine with a CoffeeSock or two. Just empty the grinds into one of your new compost bins and rewash the filter. If coworkers insist on having traditional pods around, shop for compostable pods from sustainable coffee brands like Tayst.

If you still prefer Starbucks on the way in, always bring your own reusable coffee mug to avoid contributing to the 600 billion paper and plastic cups thrown away each year.