Envirowise are on the streets of London today with a giant bin, aiming to draw attention to the waste generated by office workers in the UK.
Workers printing off an average 50 pages a day are contributing over 80 million tonnes of waste to landfill, and although 70% of office waste is recyclable, so far we only manage a woeful 7.5%.
So, Envirowise are recommending an interesting strategy to highlight the problem: One Bin Day. The trouble is it’s just too easy to throw things away. Every desk has a bin, and you can lean across and drop things in it any time you please. On One Bin Day however, the whole office would share one central bin. “The visual impact can be staggering,” says Programme Director Martin Gibson with apparent glee. “If workers follow their normal practices, the central bin will soon be overflowing within a matter of hours. ” Just seeing how much waste is generated by your office in a single day may just be enough to make people think twice. Making them walk across the room to throw things away might help too.
It’s a simple idea. I like it. I might try it in my own office.
The Earthbound Report 