Educate and Promote 

Employee Involvement Ideas

There are many ways to involve employees, managers, or customers in waste reduction programs. Employees need to be informed before they can be involved and fully participate. What do you want them to do? Why should they do it? Communicate the goals of your waste reduction program clearly. Let them know how they can participate and how it will benefit them.

Let Everyone Know Management is Behind It

An announcement from the company owner or senior officer highlighting the benefits of waste reduction and outlining separation and collection procedures is an important first step to informing employees of environmental policies and practices. Make a presentation about the new program in an all staff meeting if possible. Post the memo conspicuously or reduce paper waste and announce the program via e-mail.

Hold a Kick-off Event

Take advantage of annual statewide and national events like America Recycles Day (Nov 15), or Earth Day (April 22), or Clean Out Your Files Day, to kick-off your program or to promote what your waste reduction program is accomplishing. Have fun and do something to get people's attention! Have a recycling relay or sorting contest at a staff meeting.

On-going Communication is Important

Create a newsletter that features your waste reduction program and tracks its results or establish an on-going waste reduction column in your company's in-house newsletter:

• Include information from the collector regarding weight/volume of paper recycled in a given time period.
• Recognize key players in the organization for their recycling efforts, successful waste reduction strategies and use of recycled paper or other products.
• Address areas that need improvement, such as contaminants found in recyclables, and suggest solutions.

Promotional Ideas that Work

• Some companies give employees coffee mugs or desktop paper recycling containers with company and recycling logos.
• Create a Waste Reduction Award and present it to the individual, department, or business in the community that consistently watches its waste.
• Run an ad in a local newspaper highlighting your success! Toot your horn!.
• Let us know what you have done and we will post it here!

[print version]