PAPER & DISPOSABLES Disposables in theworkplace
Many companies are instigating sustainability policies in a bid to reduce the amount of office waste they produce, but how can they also cut the use of disposables in the workplace washroom? Lee Radzki from Tork manufacturer Essity considers the issue.
The rules around workplace recycling in England were tightened up in March this year. The new regulations stipulate that all businesses, charities and public sector organisations in England that generate waste now need to separate their rubbish in a similar way to that of households.
Failure to comply to these rules – which are already in place in Scotland and Wales – could lead to a compliance notice from the Environment Agency along with enforcement action.
The government’s aim is to increase recycling rates and reduce the amount of waste being sent to landfill. This is part of a wider trend towards creating more sustainable working practices in offices across the board.
There is certainly an increased appetite for more sustainable practices at work. In a global study carried out by Essity in 2022, half the respondents claimed to have become more eco-conscious while working from home.
The Tork Eco Office Survey polled 14,000 workers in eight countries across Europe and the US. It revealed that 83% of employees wanted their offices to become more environmentally-friendly, while 78% said they believed their employer could be doing more to create an eco- friendly office.
When they returned to their offices after COVID lockdowns, 46% said they were disappointed that their employer had done little to improve their sustainability practices during the pandemic.
This message now appears to be getting through to employers. Companies all over the country are working on new ways of improving their sustainability credentials. For example, they are implementing Bike to Work schemes and are coming up with car-pooling initiatives as well as improving the energy- efficiency of their lighting and heating solutions.
They are also taking steps to reduce the use of paper at work. For example, they are switching to digital forms and e-signatures in place of hard copies where possible, and replacing physical filing systems with cloud-based storage.
This sustainability ethos is continuing through to the office kitchen, too. Staff members are being encouraged to bring in their own mugs and coffee cups, for example. Some businesses are handing out reusable lunch kits including food containers and bamboo cutlery to new employees as a welcome pack to discourage them from buying meals in throwaway cartons. Filtered water is routinely being supplied in offices to deter people from purchasing multiple plastic water bottles.
So, how can employers also cut down on the amount of waste paper created in the office washroom? Policing the use of paper towels and toilet paper would be seen as
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an unwelcome intrusion in this essentially private space. However, vast quantities of paper products are used in workplace toilets every day.
The use of washroom paper can be effectively controlled by installing dispensing systems that have been designed to naturally reduce consumption. For example, the Tork SmartOne toilet paper dispenser automatically limits the amount of tissue that people take out with each use, reducing consumption by up to 40%. The Tork OptiServe Coreless system also offers sustainability benefits because the compact roll lasts up to five times longer than conventional toilet rolls, while resulting in 88% less waste.
In some facilities, piles of C-fold paper towels are left on the sink units for washroom users to help themselves. However, this encourages people to take more than they need and they will also be dripping their wet hands on the rest of the towels in the process, rendering them unusable.
Where C-fold towels are supplied in a dispenser, the result is little better. C-fold dispensers make it difficult for the user to take out one towel at a time – particularly if the dispenser has been overfilled by the cleaner. Each employee will therefore be forced to take a clump of towels and will either use more than he or she needs, or leave the discarded towels on the units where they will be wasted or dropped onto the floor.
The Tork PeakServe Continuous Hand Towel Dispenser is a good solution for the office because the towels are protected by the dispenser before use and are delivered singly. This discourages staff members from taking out more paper than they need and reduces the risk of overconsumption.
The practice of recycling waste was considered to be a crucial move by nine out of 10 people polled in the Tork Eco Office Survey, and the use of paper towels becomes even more environmentally-friendly when they are recycled.
Tork PaperCircle – the world’s first recycling service for paper towels – creates a closed loop system for used washroom hand towels.
Office workers use the washrooms as usual but throw their paper towels away in a separate, clearly-marked bin. Cleaners then empty the bins and keep the paper towels separate on their trolleys. The towels are collected by a waste-handling partner and transported to a local Essity mill, where they are recycled into new tissue products.
More than 3m hand towels are now recycled each month using Tork Paper Circle, with 85% of customers claiming the system to be easy to implement. Tork Paper Circle is helping offices all over Europe to improve their sustainability credentials and boost their recycling rates.
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