Over the last month, our family has been collecting and saving all of our containers for deposit recycling. We had a couple of garbage bags worth, so I popped down to the recycling station and dropped the bags off, as all the self-serve machines were being used. Within the hour they had sorted my recycling and had paid the refund into my PayPal account. How good is that, and just so easy and convenient?
After recently watching the Chasers “War on Waste” this made me wonder how much waste we actually recycle. A 2014-2015 snapshot of the country’s waste found Australia recycled almost 60 percent of the 64 million tonnes of waste produced that year. This isn’t too bad, but we can do better.
Please just take a few minutes to think about the waste you generate and how you get rid of it. Does your workplace recycle all your e-waste, batteries, phones, paper, bottles and cans? If not, why not. Most council waste transfer stations will take this waste off your hands for free, and even Aldi will take batteries. There really is no reason not to do the right thing and help build a greener planet. (WHS Advisor, Nick Lines)
Environment Management within the workplace
Using sustainable resources and implementing recycling and waste reduction measures will have a positive effect on the environment, but also improve your organisations productivity and reputation.
An Environmental Management System can help your business to manage your current and future environmental impact. An EMS integrates environmental management into daily operations, long-term forecasting and additional quality management schemes. EMS supports environmental management plan. Implementing an EMS improves your businesses use of resources.
Planning Environment Management System:
- Identify current environmental effects of your business
- set environmental objectives and targets
- outline your operational and emergency procedures related to environmental matters
- clarify environmental responsibilities and reporting structure
- Increase environmental awareness, understanding and communication with all your workers
- Develop strategies and plans that will meet the aims and objectives.
Tips for Reducing Environmental Impacts
- Watch your water usage.
- Go paperless.
- Recycle if you can’t go paperless.
- Use recycled products.
- Look for power-saving alternatives
- Invest in energy efficient vehicles.
WHS and Training Compliance Solutions is offering WHS Training across QLD. We also have online training and onsite training. Contact us for your WHS training needs. We can customise our training programs based on your needs.
