Get serious about recycling and save on commercial cleaning costs.

Recycle to Save on the Cleaning Bill: The Problem

How to recycle and save on your regular office cleaning bill? Part of the service that we at Duticall provide our regular office cleaning customers is emptying rubbish bins in the office space. I am amazed by how far behind the times commercial offices are when it comes to managing their waste streams. The media is full of stories and information about taking a greener approach to the way we live but it is yet to really get traction in the workplace, particularly how it is managed as part of the office cleaning service. At home, we are regularly reminded of the need to recycle which means sorting your waste stream. Separating the reusables from the non-reusables. There are many ways we can help the environment, with council supplied recycling bins and the opportunity to make money from our recyclable waste with the 10c container refund programs. Recycle and Save on your Regular Office Cleaning Bill should be the mantra for all businesses.

So back to the standard office. For whatever reason, most of our existing clients don’t have a recycling program in place. Most office waste ends up going to landfill in the ‘General Waste’ stream. Offices where we provide a regular cleaning service still have individual bins under every desk and a single general waste bin in the kitchen. Moves are afoot to change all of that. Even the washroom is under the microscope. Paper towel v’s hand drying should be looked at critically

Making everyone in the office responsible for their own waste can help reduce the waste footprint and save serious coin off your office cleaning bill. Here is a small case study that clearly demonstrates that taking a different approach can make a huge difference.

The Analysis

Here we compare the setup and service costs of an office outfitted with Method Recycling Stations vs. one with Individual Desk Bins over the course of one year.

**These figures are based on a company that has 110 staff in a 1,500m2 office over 240 workdays. This company would have three Method Recycling stations – one station per every 37 people/ 500 m2 – comprised of three waste streams with Open lids. Freight costs have been excluded.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Solution

Recycling Stations will save your cleaners time:

• Changing 9 bin liners at 30 seconds a liner = 8-10 minutes
• Changing 110 bin liners at 30 seconds a liner = 55 minutes

The concept is pretty simple. Reduce the number of bins in the workplace and replace them with a system that encourages the separating of items at point of disposal.  Servicing individual bins is reduced significantly, resulting in a reduction in the amount of cleaning time required.  In the example above, the savings are obvious and the time saved can be passed on to the client as a reduction in the overall cleaning service charge. Makes sense doesn’t it.

We were shown this system from Method Recycling at a recent Facilities Services trade show in Sydney. I was impressed with the simplicity of the system and how it can be implemented within an office environment.

It’s not going to be for everyone but the system is flexible and can be tailored to suit the needs of the business. The scope for recycling and saving money is there!