Google Employees Embrace Recycling

When a business decides to increase on-site recycling, it must have the employees on board with the plan in order to be successful. If a business wants employees to recycle but doesn’t have companywide guidelines, it needs to have enthusiastic employees. Google has enthusiastic employees. Due to a difference in recycling standards in the cities in which the company operates, there cannot be a companywide recycling standard. However, individual Google hubs each have their own set of guidelines that comply with local and state recycling mandates.

At Google’s London office, employees aren’t allowed to have trashcans at their desk. This prevents employees from quickly throwing away something that should be recycled. Instead, employees visit a centralized recycling station to sort out their garbage and recyclables. This one low-tech idea has led to a 50% increase in recycled products at the London location. Other Google locations have also picked up on the no trashcans idea, including the three Google offices in Santa Monica, CA.

Once employees get to one of these centralized recycling stations, they have several choices. Office paper is placed into shredding bins. After company documents have been safely shredded, they are sent to local recycling plants. There are also bins to collect glass, cans and plastic bottles. Instead of being delivered to a local landfill, these products are recycled accordingly. Although the company collects plastic bottles for recycling, these aren’t likely to be empty water bottles. Google does not use bottled water at any of its worldwide offices.

Google's London office doesn't offer trashbins.

Google is a technology company and naturally encourages the recycling of electronic equipment. To help foster this, the company hosts at least one computer parts collection day each year. The company recycles monitors, laptops, copiers, hard drives, CDs, telephone equipment, laser printer toner cartridges and even high-end networking equipment.

Google employees can also compost items used at many of its campuses. In addition to food compostables, the plate ware and cutlery provided in the on-site cafés is compostable.

Google’s recycling and composting efforts help the company reduce its carbon footprint and allow the company to divert tons of waste from local landfills.