Recycling is defined as the process of converting used materials into new materials. Not every type of material can be recycled; those materials most commonly recycled are aluminum, cardboard, glass, paper, plastics, and steel. And contrary to what many believe, recycling is typically not one to one, meaning that material that gets recycled isn't necessarily converted to that same material. Thus, old glass doesn't necessarily end up as new glass, and old plastics don't necessarily end up as new plastics.
Although recycling programs, particularly at the municipal level, have become quite popular, the debate rages on as to whether recycling makes financial sense because the costs to recycle can be substantial. Despite this disagreement, most can agree that recycling does reduce incineration, which is the most common means for disposing of landfill waste. The less there is to burn, the less harm that incineration does to the environment. And recycling does reduce the need for landfill space, which not only causes water pollution from runoff but also could contribute to global warming because decomposing products release, among other things, methane gas.
According to Recycling: Good for the Environment, Good for the Economy, a pamphlet by the California Integrated Waste Management Board, recycling one ton of waste will pay $101 in salaries and wages, produce $275 more in goods and services, and generate $135 more in sales than disposing of it in a landfill.
In the small business environment, the most likely candidates for recycling are paper, glass, plastics, metal cans, and office electronics.
Paper
The most important reason for recycling paper is to keep it out of landfill sites. Newspapers alone constitute a reported 14 percent of all landfill space. Nearly 15.7 million tons of printing-writing papers were recovered in 2006 from U.S. workplaces, a significant increase from the more than 10 million tons recovered in 1995, according to thepaperrecycles.org website.
Glass, Plastic, and Metal Cans
The average American consumed 28.6 gallons of bottled water in 2006, up from just 1.6 gallons in 1976, according to the Beverage Marketing Corp. But eight out of every 10 bottles ends up in a landfill, each of which takes about 700 years to begin to decompose, according to the Earth911.org website.
Office electronics
The U.S. generated an estimated 1.5 billion pounds of electronic devices in 2006, according to Earth911. Recycling one million cell phones saves enough energy to power more than 19,000 U.S. households with electricity for an entire year, according to the EPA.
Recycling Programs
One response to the waste that your office generates is to participate in a local recycling program. For recycling paper, glass, plastics, and metal cans, participation in a recycling program typically involves taking two steps. First, find someone to pick it up. Second, put recycling bins in the office. To find someone to pick up your recyclables, the best place to start is probably with the public works department in your city or county.
Recycling office electronics is a bit different. Several possibilities do exist, however.
First, contact the same public works department you contacted for the other waste. Some communities offer electronics collections as part of their recycling program involving paper, glass, etc. Second, look for public and private organizations that accept electronics for recycling. Third, consider the electronic manufacturer or retailer of your electronic product. Some electronics manufacturers and retailers accept used electronics for recycling, and some offer free shipping labels through their website. Fourth, consider a charitable organization, and, fifth, consider a repair shop.
Federal and State Disposal Rules
Small business owners also need to be aware of federal, state, and local rules governing the disposal of used electronics. For example, some electronics, such as cell phones, are deemed to contain "hazardous" materials and are subject to special handling rules. Individual state rules can be more stringent than the federal rules. For more information, see the EPA's discussion of ecycling rules and regulations.
Light bulbs
While glass products typically are recycled with plastics, metal cans, and similar products, light bulbs have to be recycled separately, especially those compact fluorescent lightbulbs, which contain mercury. To find out more on disposing of mercury-containing light bulbs that in your area, see the EPA's discussion of mercury lamp collection and recycling programs.