Greenfleet - Workplace waste

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The Issue | Avoid & Reduce | Offset

What's the issue?

Did you know that waste contributes to greenhouse gas emissions in two ways:

There is embedded energy associated with any product / food source (ie. energy has been consumed to produce it in the first place) - by throwing it away you are wasting this energy and if you buy something to replace it you are driving the demand for more energy in production of that new item
As organic waste (food, paper, etc) breaks down in landfill it does so without oxygen and produces methane (CH₄), which has a global warming impact 21 times that of carbon dioxide

You might look at statistics showing that waste is responsible for 3% of Australia's emissions (Australia's National Greenhouse Gas Inventory 2007, released June 2009), and think waste is not a big issue.

But when you factor in the embedded energy that also gets wasted - industrial processes, agriculture, transport, electricity and gas combustion - the problem gets much bigger.

How to avoid and reduce emissions

Cut down. Reducing your consumption reduces both the embedded energy lost and the amount going to waste.

Do you really need to print in the office - can you read it off the computer screen instead? If you are printing, are you printing double-sided - or at a reduced scale to fit multiple pages on one printed page?
Do you need lots of big, glossy brochures - can you produce something smaller, simpler and then direct people to an internet address?
Is there leftover food after meetings, conferences, etc? Monitor this and reduce the amount you order in the future.
Do you really need a new computer / mobile phone / insert other workplace gadget here? If a new item will reduce emissions in the long-term or if it's necessary for business operations that's OK, but don't rush out to get the latest and greatest if your current model works just fine. If you do need to replace something remember to recycle the old one.

When making purchases check if the item is produced locally? If the answer is no, check if there is a local alternative.

Repair, refill and re-use items where possible. If you do upgrade, your older products may still be useful to another business, school, community group, etc. Ask around to find out if someone else can make use of your disused equipment - or try a website like the Australian Recyclers' Classifieds to give it away to a grateful recipient.

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Recycle materials instead of sending them to landfill - this means the materials are recovered and fed back into the system to make new products, reducing both the emissions released from waste and the need to source virgin materials. Recycling programs are available for most office supplies and equipment, construction materials and much more. Planet Ark's Recycling Near You guide can point you in the right direction if you don't know where to start.

Buy recycled products - or those with some recycled content at least, to reduce the demand for virgin materials. Check out the Buy Recycled Business Alliance's Recycled Product Directory for assistance in sourcing recycled products.

For materials that require intensive primary processing (ie. steel, plastic and aluminium), recycling can reduce emissions by about two tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per tonne of product (Curbing the effect of waste on climate (614KB), Environment Canada).

Offset the rest

It's important that we counteract the impact of the greenhouse emissions we create by undertaking an activity to absorb an equivalent amount of greenhouse gas from the atmosphere. Greenfleet plants permanent, biodiverse, native forests to offset greenhouse gas emissions on behalf of businesses and individuals.

Greenfleet's online Tree Totaller can't calculate the emissions generated by waste, but you can estimate your waste emissions using the guide below and add an "Optional extra offset" when you calculate the emissions generated by your business' car fleet, air travel and on-site energy consumption, then submit your calculations for a quote to offset your emissions.

If you know what's in your waste:	tonnes CO₂-e per tonne of waste
Paper & cardboard	2.5
Textiles	1.5
Rubber & leather	2.5
Wood	2.7
Garden & green waste	1.3
Food	0.9
Concrete / metal / plastics / glass	0.0

If you don't know what's in your waste:	tonnes CO₂-e per tonne of waste
Municipal solid waste	1.0
Commercial and industrial waste	1.1
Construction and demolition waste	0.3

Emission factors: National Greenhouse Accounts Factors, June 2009.