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UK Office Workers Throw Away The Equivalent Of 11 London Buses-Worth Of Paper Every Year

11 May 2011

With the arrival of green office week, national paper shredding and recycling experts have revealed that UK office workers throw away the equivalent of 11 London buses-worth of paper every year

Now that Green Office Week is in full swing, focus has been put onto businesses and their environmental responsibility to make their offices greener places to work.

Office employees use approximately 50 sheets of paper a day, its was revealed.

Anthony Pearlgood, commercial director of PHS Datashred, a national paper shredding and recycling business, said: "The Green Office Week campaign is all about incorporating practical eco tips into every day office life and changing the mind set of office workers.

"Our data destruction services fit well with the campaign's aims as shredding is a practical way to thoroughly destroy data and is environmentally friendly because all shredded materials go into making recycled paper. We recommend every office has a secure shredding policy in place for peace of mind and for the good of the planet."

Green Office Week (Is the recession good for the environment?)

Green Office Week runs until13 May 2011 and is organised by Avery Office Products and offers simple ideas to make your office more environmentally friendly and aims to inspire and change the behaviour of office workers.

Nicky Amos, on behalf of Avery Office Products who spearheaded the Green Office Week campaign, said: "It's clear that the current economic situation is forcing many workplaces to become greener. More and more office workers are behaving in an environmentally sound and more efficient manner. Our survey findings ahead of this year's Green Office Week reinforce what many companies are finding - that a greener office can help the bottom line."

Anthony Pearlgood, commercial director of PHS Datashred, a national paper shredding and recycling business, offers the following tips to make your office greener:

  • Encourage workers to use one central bin rather than individual ones
  • Dispose data properly - use an accredited company to help store, collect and securely destroy paper so it can then be recycled. This is both green and safely destroys confidential data
  • Inform staff - draw up an office wide environmental policy and commit to recycling and energy saving
  • Switch off computers, laptops and lights at night to reduce energy consumption in your company
  • Encourage car sharing or a bike to work scheme in your office
  • Switch to environmental office products - use closed loop paper, the UK's first 100% recycled paper to be sourced from and delivered back to the same customer
  • Encourage workers to 'think before they print' and type up an eco friendly email signature

A recent YouGov poll found that nearly half of the UK's office workers (47 percent) said their offices have actively become greener as a result of the economic downturn as staff put more effort into recycling, turning off unused lights and saving on the heating bill.

For more information visit www.greenofficeweek.eu

Darrel Moore