Envirowise launches campaign to reduce office waste

This week saw a giant paper aeroplane – 35 feet long – launched over the City of London to mark the launch of the campaign. The plane was made from the 1,584 sheets of A4 paper that Envirowise says the average office worker gets through in just one month.

” We believe there is tremendous scope for reducing waste in offices.“
– Dr Martin Gibson, Envirowise

The campaign warns that paper usage is rising by around 20% every year, with the average office worker using approximately 50 sheets of paper every day in the typical office.

Envirowise says wasting paper is not only a drain on the environment, but also hits companies' bottom lines. programme director Dr Martin Gibson said: “Envirowise experience shows that in a best practice small office, employees will use as little as 15 sheets of paper a day compared to a less resourceful office where each person can squander a staggering 100 sheets of paper per day.”

Scope
Dr Gibson explained that most businesses don't think enough about how much they are paying for items they are throwing away. “We believe there is tremendous scope for reducing waste in offices,” he said.

Envirowise has set up a website with an online savings calculator

Envirowise is funded through the landfill tax legacy fund and this year received funding through Defra's Business Resource Efficiency and Waste (BREW) initiative, which is a 284 million fund paid for by Landfill Tax revenues aiming to help businesses reduce their waste management bills (see letsrecycle.com story).

The organisation claims to have helped UK businesses save 1 billion through cutting down on landfill and disposal charges.

To support its new national campaign, Envirowise has set up a website to help businesses with tips on cutting waste in the office environment and an online savings calculator, at www.maximiseprofit.org.uk.

• Envirowise's Emma Burlow is to speak at a letsrecycle.com conference focusing on securing funding for waste management and recycling projects on July 6 in London. Defra, WRAP and the British Retail Consortium will also speak at the event. Click here for more details.