How to increase recycling rates in the office

Hi all, 

 

To learn an effective way to increase recycling behaviour in an office workplace, consider reviewing Action Research’s study on 34 office buildings in U.S. cities. They had three experimental desk-side recycling systems in place over six months. The first was a regular sized recycling bin with a little trash can attached to it. The second was a trash bin of equal size next to the recycling bin. The third was just a recycling bin with no trash can. 

 

Surprisingly (at least it was surprising to me), the recycling bins that had the little trash can attached to it proved to be the most effective. The image below shows the impressive increase in the proportion of recyclables and decrease in contamination of the bins.

This study is a reminder that making the sustainable behaviour as convenient as possible can be an effective way to reduce waste. If you’d like to learn more, you can visit Action Research’s website here, which links to the full study.