A title like that is often a turn off to me...because it usually introduces an article that tries to deflate all of the hope we put into environmental action. This is not that sort of post! There is much hope!! Please keep reading. :)
Mr. Tribe told me recently that he was having a conversation (not at his office), put something into a recycling bin + the person he was talking to said, "You know none of that actually gets recycled, don't you?" When asked why he believed that, the friend continued, "You don't see any recycling dumpsters outside this building, do you?" This friend had investigated + found that all of the "recycling" there was just thrown into the trash!
That conversation prompted Mr. Tribe to ask where the recycling receptacles at his office were emptied. The person who did the enquiry uncovered a surprising answer. The recycling bins his employer had bought for their office were not the "right" bins (according to the building manager)...so the cleaning crew was just dumping all of the recycling into the trash!
Once the office manager learned of this "misunderstanding", new bins were ordered from the building manager, but have yet to show up. The office manager clearly believes that recycling services are included in the lease of the office space. I asked Mr. Tribe if there was a recycling dumpster in the parking lot anywhere + he said, "Only for cardboard."
All of this prompts the question: What is the root issue here? Do office buildings have to pay extra to have a recycling dumpster + pickup for their building? In the same city, our residential pickup offers no option for not having recycling pickup. I think most of us assume that businesses with recycling bins are actually getting the contents to recyclers, but this just might be a mirage. Clearly, we need to be more proactive.
Just thought I'd pass this story along. Awareness is everything! Do you know that your workplace recycling is getting recycled?
Love,
Jane
Mr. Tribe told me recently that he was having a conversation (not at his office), put something into a recycling bin + the person he was talking to said, "You know none of that actually gets recycled, don't you?" When asked why he believed that, the friend continued, "You don't see any recycling dumpsters outside this building, do you?" This friend had investigated + found that all of the "recycling" there was just thrown into the trash!
That conversation prompted Mr. Tribe to ask where the recycling receptacles at his office were emptied. The person who did the enquiry uncovered a surprising answer. The recycling bins his employer had bought for their office were not the "right" bins (according to the building manager)...so the cleaning crew was just dumping all of the recycling into the trash!
Once the office manager learned of this "misunderstanding", new bins were ordered from the building manager, but have yet to show up. The office manager clearly believes that recycling services are included in the lease of the office space. I asked Mr. Tribe if there was a recycling dumpster in the parking lot anywhere + he said, "Only for cardboard."
All of this prompts the question: What is the root issue here? Do office buildings have to pay extra to have a recycling dumpster + pickup for their building? In the same city, our residential pickup offers no option for not having recycling pickup. I think most of us assume that businesses with recycling bins are actually getting the contents to recyclers, but this just might be a mirage. Clearly, we need to be more proactive.
Just thought I'd pass this story along. Awareness is everything! Do you know that your workplace recycling is getting recycled?
Love,
Jane
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