Together, food, drink and waste equate to 25% of our carbon footprint, so ensuring that you as a business reduce your consumption and waste is such an important step in reducing your carbon footprint.

• Ensure the business has proper waste facilities including general waste, recycling and food bins. If you do not have all of these bins, please visit your local council’s website or contact them in another way to order your bin.
• It is surprising how many people do not know what can go in each bin, so make sure employees are aware of exactly where they should put their waste. Label the bins around the office with what can and can’t be put in.
• Compost is a fantastic way to dispose of any food waste left over at the end of each day/week, or from employee lunches. Get a compost bin from the council and follow their guidelines, stirring it regularly. Give compost to someone with an allotment or to employees for their own garden.
• Provide employees with a digital copy of Another Way’s free leaflet on ‘Your guide to the plastic-free adventure’.
• Look into TerraCycle schemes and become a drop off location for certain recyclable products such as bread bags, crisp packets and confectionary packaging. This is a great way to encourage employees to bring in used packaging and ensure it is disposed of or recycled in the most sustainable way. This will not only encourage employees, but can also be advertised to customers, clients and all other members of the public.
• If your business uses a lot of stationary, make sure this is being recycled in the appropriate way. One way to do this is sign up to ‘The Writing Instruments Recycling programme’ from TerraCycle and become of a drop-off location, or find a local drop-off location to recycle your stationery accordingly.
• Each year in the UK, 600 million batteries are thrown away. When batteries end up in landfill, the chemicals leak from them, causing water and soil pollution which is damaging to wildlife, animals and the environment. To order a free battery collection box for your business, click here.
• If your business uses printers, consider switching to refillable ink cartridges. This is a simple step your business can make to reduce plastic waste and reduce your environmental impact.
• Take a look at the work of Surfers Against Sewage, a marine conservation charity who work towards healthier oceans. You should take a look at their work here and think about becoming a community leader in your area.