Why You Need a Workplace Paper Recycling Policy

ShredPro is a professional paper shredding company that offers a secure, efficient and cost effective shredding service achieving the highest standards in the industry to ensure maximum protection of your confidential information.

We have extensive experience of recycling paper for a wide range of businesses and organisations, working with them to comply with regulations and reducing their environmental footprint.

Why you should act now

In the UK, we generate an estimated 10 million tonnes of paper waste every year, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). Of this, DEFRA says only around 65% is recycled.

The rest ends up in landfill, where it can take hundreds of years to decompose.

Domestically, Recycle Now, the national recycling campaign for England and Northern Ireland, which aims to motivate more people to recycle, estimates that the average family throws away six trees worth of paper every year.

The process for paper production requires large energy and water consumption, all while releasing harmful pollutants into the atmosphere. By recycling paper, we can help to reduce our impact on the environment.

How a policy can help

A workplace paper recycling policy can help your business to reduce its environmental impact and save money.

ShredPro identifies the following benefits of having a paper recycling policy:

• Reduced waste: Recycling paper helps cut the amount of waste that goes to landfill, saving your business money on waste disposal costs.
• Conservation of natural resources: Recycling paper helps to conserve natural resources, such as trees, water, and energy.
• Protecting the environment: Recycling paper helps to reduce air and water pollution.
• Improved employee morale: Colleagues are more likely to be proud of their work and feel good about their company if they know that it is taking steps to protect the environment, seeing it as a positive effort by their employer.
• Data protection: The Information Commissioner’s Office, which oversees the enforcement of GDPR, says:
  

  “You must ensure that you have appropriate security measures in place to protect the personal data you hold.”

   

  The ICO adds:

  “Deleting records that you no longer need, or are not proportionate to retain any longer, is an essential part of a good records management system.”

   

How to implement a workplace paper recycling policy

We recommend you take these steps to implement a workplace paper recycling policy:

1. Set clear goals:

What do you want to achieve with your paper recycling policy?
Do you want to reduce the amount of paper waste by a certain percentage?
Do you want to recycle all of your paper waste?
Do you want to improve GDPR compliance?

2. Choose the right recycling bins:

You will need to choose the right recycling bins for your workplace. There are many different types of recycling bins available, so you will need to choose the ones that are right for your needs, particularly if you handle confidential information.

3. Make it easy for employees to recycle:

The easier it is for employees to recycle, the more likely they are to do it. Make sure that your recycling bins are located in convenient places and that they are clearly labelled.

4. Educate employees about recycling:

Employees need to know why recycling is important and how to do it properly. You can educate them through posters, flyers, and training sessions.

5. Encourage employees to recycle:

You can encourage employees to recycle by offering incentives, such as contests or prizes.

ShredPro recycles 100% of the paper we shred, all in compliance with the environmental management system ISO 14001. This ensures that our own environmental impact and therefore those of our customer is controlled. All our paper is recycled at local UK mills, again reducing the impact on the environment and investing in the local economy.