Why Cardboard Recycling Makes Good Business Sense
We all know that recycling waste materials can be hugely beneficial for our amazing planet, as well as the quality of the environment for the people in our community.
So it’s not surprising that many businesses are keen to do their bit in taking care of the environment, not least because being eco-friendly has been proven to positively influence potential customers and buyers.
But did you know that beyond the feel-good factor, implementing good recycling practices in your business could also be sound economics?
One of the most common materials used by many businesses is cardboard – whether in the form of packaging, transportation, storage boxes or even coffee cups.
So here are four great reasons why recycling your cardboard makes good business sense.
Save Money On Waste Bills
One of the key savings that your business could enjoy by recycling cardboard is the reduced cost of sending commercial waste to landfill sites.
Due to its detrimental impact on the environment, landfill waste is becoming more and more expensive, and commercial waste is even more costly, making this a serious cost consideration for modern businesses.
This trend looks set only to continue as the penalties for pollution and environmental damage become more severe in the wake of an escalating global challenge.
One simple way to reduce the amount of waste you have to pay to send to landfill is to divert the cardboard element to recycling channels instead.
Whether you opt to hire a cost-effective waste management firm or cardboard collection service, or you choose to recycle the cardboard within your own business, reducing the amount of cardboard that would normally find its way into landfill sites will not only help the planet, it could reduce your running costs too.
And given that cardboard is one of the biggest components of business waste, this would be a great place to begin reducing your company’s carbon footprint along with your waste bills.
Reduce Storage Costs
With storage costs increasing at a similar rate to waste services, you may find that it pays to get rid of all the surplus cardboard on your premises, which will make room for your other business practices or cut down on your storage expenses.
The space in any business premises has a cost and value, so it makes good financial sense to calculate what any storage areas are costing your business.
If you have piles of old boxes or cardboard sitting around, it will free up more storage space to get these packed off to a recycling expert and make space for more valuable business activities or products.
Save Money On Cardboard Purchases
If you recycle some of your business’s own cardboard in-house, you could save money that would have been spent on purchasing new boxes or packaging materials.
Depending on your business, it may prove to be economical to set up a cardboard recycling programme and encourage your employees to recycle or reuse rather than simply binning old cardboard products and then purchasing more new ones.
Business Boosting Eco-Credentials
In the modern workplace, people like to work for businesses that have good ethics. It makes sense that if a business cares about things like the environment, there’s a good chance they will treat their employees well, too.
So, one of the beneficial side-effects of a sound recycling practice could be the increased value of your business in the minds of your staff and potential employees.
While this may not be a quantifiable cost-saving, when it comes to the expense of recruitment and training new staff, it’s in the best interests of any business to attract and retain high calibre employees.
By adopting an eco-friendly philosophy, you’re sending a message to your workforce and the wider world that you are a responsible and future-focused business.
This kind of brand message will undoubtedly make a difference to the overall success of your business and could well translate to a positive impact in financial terms.
You may also like to share your company’s eco-credentials with your customers. For example, you might like to place signs within your business or notices on your website or social channels that you’re helping to save the planet by doing your bit and recycling your cardboard waste.
This kind of beneficial PR can be worth a fortune when it comes to creating a positive image in the hearts and minds of your customers.
Any modern business needs to take waste management seriously if it wants to thrive in the coming decades, yet this need not always be an expensive option.
It’s possible to embrace good recycling practices that will help the environment in ways that work for your business, your customers and your bottom line.