At Postwink, we believe that going Zero Waste at your office or school is (almost always) possible with a combination of staff/learner education, consistent signage and clear recycling bins. This is the “front end” of a successful recycling project.
Then, a well implemented collection plan will ensure everything happens as expected (View our list of recycling collectors from which to get collection proposals from!).
With the above set up, watch your recycling rate grow – and your landfill kgs reduce simultaneously.
Knowing that contaminated waste almost always ends up at landfill, how does one separate to ensure that the recycling (and food scraps) are indeed recycled (or composted) as intended? Here are the four major categories to separate your waste in:
- Non-Recyclable (often, black bag)
- Recyclables (clear bag)
- Organic Waste (separate bin is ideal unless you have compostable bags)
- Hazardous Waste (separate bin)
Non-Recyclables
- sweet, chocolate & chip packets
- code 3, 6 & 7 plastics
- ceramics & crockery
- stickers & sticker backing
- foil-lined pharmaceutical tablets
- tissues & soiled napkins (these can get composted)
- beauty product plastic tubes
- pesticide containers
- Window glass & mirrors
- Contaminated packaging
Recyclables (keep clean and dry as much possible)
- Paper boxes, books, magazines & papers
- Glass all unbroken empty glass bottles & jars
- Plastics – fairly clean plastics with the number 1, 2, 4 & 5
- Aluminum & Steel cans, tins, & bottle lids
Organic Waste (to be composted) *
- food scraps & peels
- meat & bones
- dairy products (without packaging of course!)
- baked goods & cooked grains
- teabags & coffee grounds
- filter paper & wax paper
- paper towels & newspapers (ideally unbleached paper)
- flowers & untreated wood
*check out our specific information on worm farms -as not all organic waste can be sent to the worms farm.
Hazardous Waste (Accredited Waste Companies can collect)
- poisonous substances containers
- batteries & lightbulbs
- break fluid & used oil
- medical waste, medicines & syringes
Discuss the above separation with your waste management company or collectors, to ensure they accept the waste items you generate -especially for recyclables: some companies may not accept some recyclable packaging because of their location or capacity, while others may do so – so the above is a general rule which must be checked upon.
More questions on how to improve the usage of your recycling bins or how to improve your waste separation? Contact us – Postwink has been helping companies do this since 2007.
