Waste not, want not.

The ABCs of implementing successful recycling program at your business

Every week, millions of Americans dutifully haul their pop bottles and cans to bottle return centers, put Styrofoam cups into curbside recycling bins and drop spent batteries into those little boxes found in post office lobbies. In fact, you may even be one of those Earth-friendly folks yourself.

But if you own or work for a small business, chances are you're not recycling nearly as diligently. After all, your company probably doesn't generate enough waste to make much of a difference, right?

Wrong.

According to industry experts, every office worker generates 1.5 pounds of paper per day. Not all of it ends up in the wastebasket, of course; some is neatly filed away or is reused in some constructive way. But most of it is trashed, and over the course of the average worker's career, that adds up to a lot of bond paper, file folders, cardboard, plastic report covers and other kinds of office waste. It's enough to make Mother Earth cringe.

So that's why more ecology-minded small businesses are attempting to recycle office waste just like the big companies do. Granted, this can be a bit of a nuisance considering it's often easier just to toss something than to pack it up for recycling. But there's a certain amount of satisfaction that comes with doing your part to help conserve Earth's resources that makes the small inconvenience easier to bear.

"Recycling is a very altruistic activity," says Lucy Doroshko, a recycling coordinator with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality in Lansing. "It actually can improve morale because employees feel good knowing they're doing the right thing for the environment."

That's how Gary Liles' employees at Alto US in Madison Heights felt when the parts and service manager instituted a company recycling program just over two years ago. Previously, the industrial cleaning equipment firm had been filling three 40-yard Dumpsters with office waste every week. With a paper recycling program in place, the company's trash output has been slashed by 33 percent.

"The employees actually were pretty happy to help out," Liles says. "It didn't take long to get them used to throwing trash into one garbage container and all paper products into the other."

The desire to conserve resources was compelling enough for Liles to spend a couple of months researching recycling options. But he also had another powerful incentive for taking the time to recycle.

"Recycling saves the company money," Liles says. "We cut our Dumpster service from three times to twice a week, and we get a tax write-off for recycling. You've got to love something that saves the environment and money at the same time."

Once you've made the decision to recycle, it's important to do a "waste assessment" to find out exactly what kind of waste you're generating. If you're like most small business owners, the bulk of your office waste consists of high-grade white or off-white paper like copy paper, letterhead and note paper. This is the kind of paper that can be recycled into high-grade bond paper.

The rest of your paper probably consists of what recyclers call "mixed paper," or a combination of many types of paper, including bond, colored paper, manila folders, envelopes with clear plastic windows, carbon paper, and even paper cups and plates. This kind of paper can be recycled even if it has a limited number of paper clips, staples and sticky notes affixed to it. Once these metals have been removed by the recycler, mixed paper can be remanufactured into tissue products.

There's even a way to recycle plastic and personal trash, but these materials must be kept separate from paper waste. Then there's Styrofoam, which presents problems of its own, according to Ramsey Zimmerman, executive director of the Michigan Recycling Coalition.

"Styrofoam has so much volume but so little weight that there's not much money in it for recyclers," Zimmerman explains. "Companies should use or ask their suppliers to use alternative packing materials like corrugated cardboard and paper egg crate material instead because they can be recycled."

Zimmerman also recommends reusing Styrofoam packing "peanuts" for your own packaging, or returning them to a mailing center where they can be reused. Many mailers will accept them at no charge. Just call ahead to make sure your offering will be welcome.

Doroshko says that paying attention to product reuse and reduction in the workplace can make a significant impact on both Earth's and a company's resources.

"You always want to find out if there's a way you can reduce the amount of paper you're generating before you recycle," Doroshko says. "Promote double-sided copying, or establish a dedicated draft print so paper that has printing on just one side can be reused. Using paper more wisely also reduces the amount you have to buy, so you'll save money.

Saving documents on floppy disks or e-mailing documents rather than sending paper through the mail are other effective ways to reduce your paper output (and postage costs).

Some companies resist recycling because of the confidential nature of the documents they produce. This is the situation Liles faced at Alto US. His company handles proprietary information like customer and product lists, customer data files and the like, all information he wouldn't want to fall into a competitor's hands. So initially, he considered buying shredding equipment for the plant, which is not only expensive, but requires someone to actually do the shredding. Then he considered assigning someone to drop the paper off at a recycling center or having the paper shredded for use as packing material. Ultimately, however, he realized that he could save more time and money by turning the job over to a company dedicated to paper shredding and recycling.

There are many waste paper recyclers in the Yellow Pages, but it can be difficult to find a company that will handle small business accounts because they recycle a much smaller quantity of paper than do institutions like banks, hospitals or automotive plants. One company that does welcome small business accounts is Secure EcoShred of Southfield. Secure not only will pick up paper waste, but also will shred it right on the premises to safeguard confidential materials.

"You take a big risk throwing things away," says Steve Kalapos, president of Secure. "Identity theft is a big problem, and companies can be held liable if confidential information gets out. Shredding before recycling reduces your risk."

Once you have a recycling program in place, Doroshko says that ongoing education is necessary to keep your employees committed. Giving regular feedback about how much paper or other waste is recycled is an effective way to keep their interest high. (You can do this by gauging how your paper costs have dropped, or by asking the recycling company to provide a report on your recycling activity.) Also, make sure all recycling bins are located in accessible locations. You know the old saying: out of sight, out of mind, which certainly applies when it comes to a voluntary program like paper recycling.

"Office paper recycling isn't rocket science, but it still rakes a certain amount of education," Doroshko says. "Even a program that started out with a big bang can lose momentum because new people are hired or a new type of paper has to be handled differently. You have to remind employees periodically why you're recycling and how their efforts are helping the environment."

The paper trail

* A typical business office generates about 1.5 pounds of wastepaper per employee per day. Financial businesses generate over two pounds per employee per day.

* Nearly half of typical office paper waste is comprised of high-grade office paper for which there is a strong recycling demand.

* Commercial and residential paper waste accounts for more than 40 percent of waste currently being sent to landfills.

* Every recycled ton of paper saves approximately 17 trees.

Source: Michigan Department of Environmental Quality

Recycling tip

Short on cash but still interested in paper recycling? Offer a free lunch to an employee who voluntarily drops your business's waste paper off at a recycling center as an incentive.

Small business loans

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality offers small business loan programs to help employers reduce pollution. Loans are available for up to $100,000 at a rate of 5 percent.