4 Ways to Make your Workplace Plastic Free

You might be surprised to know that us Australians produce an unbelievable amount of 583m plastic bottles of water yearly, which contributes to the total 7 billion drink containers that end up in landfills and our oceans. Perhaps what’s most concerning is the fact that this is only going to get worse in the foreseeable future as the bottled water industry continues to boom.

Luckily there’s much we can do to help fight against this environmental problem. At Waterlogic we’re dedicated to providing solutions that deliver great tasting water whilst being as friendly as possible to our planet. To help in our cause we’ve formulated a simple and easy way to reduce the amount of plastic you use at your workplace.

We call it the 4 R Method, which stands for Refuse, Reuse, Recycle and Raising Awareness.

1. Refuse Plastics

In any instances where you can’t recycle, then refusing to purchase or consume is the hardest but the most effective action you can take. Try to always avoid using disposable plastic bottles, plastic bags, straws, cups and plates that cannot be reused over time. As an alternative, you can use more durable metal, glass or paper products.

For example, try making your own coffee and taking it to work in a flask rather than buying takeaway coffee, also helping you save money in the process. In the best case scenario try and get your office to install a plumbed-in water cooler, which will allow you to enjoy fresh purified hot and cold water in a way that is far more sustainable, removing the need for plastic or paper products.

2. Reuse Plastics

Reusable items can easily replace one-use plastics items. Purchasing more durable containers to store food and beverages that you can take to work is a great way to reduce how much plastic you use during the working day.

Reusable canvas bags are also a much better alternative to help carry your items to work and back home. If you do have to buy a plastic bottle, then try and reuse it as much as possible at work.

One $2.50 600ml bottle can be refilled every day for 5 years with tap water before it would reach the original cost of what you forked out. If you use a bottleless water dispenser in your office, you’ll even be able to fill that bottle or even better a more durable drinking container with filtered water that is as high quality and great tasting as what you can buy in a bottle originally.

3. Recycle Plastic

It might seem a pain but recycling at your work can make a huge difference. One of the most effective actions you can take at your office is to implement specific and clearly labelled recycling bins.

If your work in an office as part of a commercial centre, then spend some time with the building manager or receptionist to try and see what actions can be put in place to ensure recycling is compulsory. This will more easily help you to recycle paper, cardboard and printer cartridges on a daily basis rather than these items ending up in a landfill or our oceans.

4. Raise Awareness of Plastic Use

Taking part in the previous three R’s are great steps to turning your business office into a more green-friendly environment.

However, the biggest way to completely remove plastic from yours and other workplaces, is to raise awareness of the problem. Inform co-workers, family, and friends how they can help and get involved.

A big step in the right direction is sharing this and letting others know just how they can help by simply implementing Waterlogic’s 4 R method to a plastic free workplace.

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