Don't Toss, Recycle!

Does your office have a paper recycling program? If not, it's easy to set one up. There are many recycling companies that will pick up barrels of paper for a small fee. In Massachusetts, I am a fan of Earthworm recycling. But, there are companies nationwide. All you need to do is make a phone call, order some plastic recycling bins (or put a sign on regular trash bins to designate them as paper only), and put them under everyone's desk. I first did this at a small company (40 employees) I worked for 10 years ago. A few people teased me, and my boss was reluctant, but I pushed for it and got the program going. The first month the recycling program sent me a report. We had saved 35 trees that month (that's almost one tree per person!). The company still uses the system today. In 10 years – that's over 4,200 trees saved! All I did was take initiative. You can, too!