It was never going to be easy. That was made clear to me on my second day at my new office. I came out of the employee washroom which emptied into a tight kitchenette with colored laminate abounding. There I noticed at once that, while aluminum can recycling bin was provided, there was not one for plastic, glass, or any other recyclable material. Yet – these materials were literally forming a pile atop the adjacent trash heap.
I made my way over to the desk of a co-worker introduced to me as "the office green specialist" merely a day before and proceeded to beg her attention.
"Hi there, I know I'm the new guy and all, but, er, I couldn't help but notice that our office doesn't have as good a recycling program as it, you know, should… I mean, we don't even recycle plastic! Why is that?"
She sighed and explained, "I've worked here for years Ben, and I don't think that will ever happen."
Reacting to the apparent grimace my face exhibited, she continued, "I mean, I'm still trying to get people to change toilet paper when we run out in the bathroom!"
I walked back to my desk sullenly. It got me thinking – why don't people recycle? Other then the fact that it goes into a different bin, the action of recycling is just as simple as throwing it away. It merely requires a slight cognitive adjustment. You have to think about your waste and where it can go. Do you want that aluminum can to spend centuries wasting away in a landfill, or do you want it to be remade into a new one?
Sure, I recognize that recycling – in the grand scheme of issues plaguing our planet – is quaint in terms of its ability to actually enact change. Critics of the process are keen on pointing out that more energy is used recycling materials then making new ones. And as Bill McDonough pointed out in his insightful book on the topic, Cradle to Cradle, the quality of the recycled product is lessened by the recycling process because of impurities such as dyes and coatings adhered to the original product.
However - and my office serves as proof that this does work - the cognitive awareness generated by the act of recycling exponentially increases one's passion to do more. Why don't people recycle, I asked earlier? I believe it is because once you understand the reason to recycle, the bigger picture slowly emerges. And recycling is so easy! If you can get yourself to drag a few empty containers to the curb once a week, you are perpetually challenged to do more and can't help but let environmental activism seep into other aspects of daily life.
It might go something like this: If you begin a practice of washing out containers and sorting them into separate bins, perhaps it dawns on you just how much waste you're diverting from the landfills. Then a new concept penetrates - to reuse. Don't throw that plastic cup into the recycling bin, use it again. But wait, you can go even further. Don't use disposable cups at all. Water tastes better out of a glass anyway. People choose not to recycle because if they do, they know it won't stop there. You will have to amplify your passion for saving the Earth.
When my firm moved into a former warehouse which now serves as our glistening new office striving to meet the criteria for LEED certification, someone had to step up and institute a recycling program. Thus, I got to work. I figured out the logistics. I ordered the appropriate sized bins. I fabricated appropriate signage. But the most important initiative seemed to be the informative emails that started to inundate the inboxes of my co-workers.
The purpose of these was to get the office on board and make the transparent process of designing our recycling program inclusive using a bombardment of positive conditioning. The approach was to make recycling at the office something that would inspire a sense of community in our growing office. Before long with some encouragement, recycling became something that everyone had a stake in. Without guilt, and not forgetting a few ounces of humor, my co-workers didn't just comply with the notion to recycle, they embraced it!
Over the last five months, my firm has adopted an extremely progressive approach to dealing with waste and sorting it properly. We now recycle enough glass, paper, metals, plastics, and cardboard that it overflows out of a pick-up truck flatbed every week! It goes without saying that that is a lot of rubbish diverted from the landfill.
Consequently, my co-workers have dubbed me the "Recycling Guru" and aren't afraid to ask the difference between bond paper and newspaper. But flattering title aside, the principal motivation that I've treasured has been hearing how many of my co-workers have started recycling at home in the last few months. More of my co-workers have taken to riding their bikes to work and some of them carpool. There is even buzz around the kitchen about composting.
Guru or not, I take pride in the fact that an office culture upwards of forty people has taken such leaps forward. All that's required is a "can of enthusiasm", maybe a "bottle of desire for a better tomorrow", and a bin to put them into. You're set to go.
