Reduce or recycle your business waste

By reducing, reusing and recycling your business waste you can reduce the impact of your business on the environment and you could save your business money. 

Here are some ideas for preventing waste: 

  • buy only what you need and will use
  • choose products with less packaging - and use less packaging on any goods you produce
  • re-use or recycle leftover materials
  • buy reusable rather than disposable items
  • refill ink and toner cartridges
  • send emails and view documents on screen rather than printing
  • remove your company name from junk mail lists 
  • invest in durable equipment that should last longer
  • use rechargeable rather than disposable batteries

Re-using your waste means there's less to dispose of (so it saves you money), here are some ideas:

  • use scrap paper as note paper
  • use shredded paper for packaging
  • re-use envelopes and other packaging
  • offer leftover materials, unwanted equipment and furniture, end-of-range items to other businesses, charities or consider selling online for cash
  • see if another business can re-use your by products

It may be possible to recycle some of your waste.

Check out the WRAP website to see how your business can prevent, reduce, reuse and recycle more or see the Gov.uk guide to disposing of your business waste.