Service Sector

(including Financial Services, Real Estate and Public Administration)

Businesses within this sector are primarily office based and although there are no production lines etc. where waste savings can perhaps be more easily identified substantial volumes of waste are generated much of which could be reused or recycled.

Paper is perhaps the most obvious area. Many of us are now accustomed to putting office paper in a separate bag or bin and having it removed for recycling. Office waste can be of relatively high quality if contamination with other materials is reduced. Education and involvement of staff, making sure everyone knows what can and can't go in can ensure quality is maintained and a relatively high price will be obtained for the material, thereby making it viable for the contractors to continue making collections. The market for recycled paper is highly volatile and substantial fluctuations will have a significant effect on costs incurred by contractors who collect, bale and reprocess office wastes.

Paper waste can also be easily minimised within the office environment. Modern printers and photocopiers are capable of printing double sided and in a large organisation this can save large volumes. Sheets printed on one side can be used for internal notes or memos. Streamlining office procedures by using email, circulating a single copy of a memo and assessing the number of paper copies that need to be kept on file can also reduce the volume of paper consumed and wasted. Similarly envelopes can be reused for internal mailings many times. These may seem like simple measures, but can make significant improvements for very little investment of time or capital.

Office buildings are often areas where large numbers of people are gathered together and present an opportunity for implementing schemes for collecting and recycling other office wastes: cups from the coffee machine, plastic milk containers, coffee jars, coke cans etc. can all be collected and recycled. This will not only improve the employees awareness of waste issues, but will reduce the volumes of waste being disposed of from the office each day.

Distribution premises or warehousing operations handle significant volumes of packaging and large organisations are likely to be affected by the Producer Responsibility (packaging) regulations. However, even if your turnover is quite small there are savings to be made in being waste aware and ensuring measures are taking to reuse materials where possible, minimise the waste and collect for recycling.