Recycling Centre

Things In Your Office That You Can Recycle – Do Your Bit From A Commercial Point Of View - By: Acorn Office


With millions of businesses in the UK operating out of small, medium and large offices all around the country, the amount of waste that they produce will be on a very high scale, but just how much of this can be recycled rather than just disposed of in normal waste management systems? Many businesses are still over looking the importance of recycling and making sure that they make the most of every type of waste, with some claiming they just do not understand what can and what can not be successfully recycled.

If every business undertook some kind of recycling then we could, as a country, dramatically push up our success levels when it comes to succeeding with the amount of waste that could be recycled and indeed is.

Below, we look at the main things that most offices will have in terms of waste and therefore which of these can be recycled.

Printer Cartridges – Nearly every office has a computer and nearly every office with a computer will usually have some kind of printer, else you would never be able to print any invoices or documents. Printers use cartridges which are quite often just discarded into the bin once used, but you can actually recycle printer cartridges and help the environment at the same time. There are a couple of big appeals at the moment that will accept your cartridges, although many do prefer original makes rather than refills, so its important to check with them before you send them in.

Computers / Electrical Equipment – Due to the evolvement of technology, computers and electrical equipment are now becoming a massive headache when it comes to waste disposal, as they account for a large part of the total waste production in the current world. Computers can very easily be recycled to local charities, schools or families, by simply having the computer fully cleaned by a profession and then passing it on. If you are worried about data, you can simply put a brand new hard drive in and give the PC away or you can just remove the old hard drive and let the new owners deal with getting a hard drive.

Mobile Phones – If your business regularly renews mobile phones for the company, you can often be left with unused mobiles that you really could do with getting rid of. Many charities and organisations will collect your old mobile phones or send you a prepaid envelope so that they can reuse and supply these mobile phones either to raise money or to give to people in other countries.

Paper – Every office in this country will use paper at one stage or another during their working day, either for writing on or printing on, so it’s vital that every office recycles its waste paper. Paper is one of the easiest forms of recycling when it comes to actually getting it to a recycling centre, with many local types of council offering a paper recycling collection and many local recycling centres offering somewhere to take this paper as well.

Cardboard – As with paper, most businesses will at some stage have cardboard to get rid of, either from their own products or from parts or supplies that have been sent in to be used. Again, as with paper, cardboard is really easy to recycle with many collection points scattered around the UK and many of the large refuse companies also offer a recycling service for cardboard to be picked up from the office premises or an arranged collection point.

Paints Or Oils – If your business regularly uses paints or oils, it is easy to end up with a load of unwanted bits and pieces and quite often these are just disposed of in the normal means. Most recycling centres around the UK specifically have areas and designated space for oils, paints and other types of chemicals, so make sure you store them correctly and take them to a point where they will accept these materials.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
How To Get Your School Recycling – Encourage Pupils To Learn And Save The Planet - By: Acorn Office



Recycling is such a major part of life for most households and adults in today’s world that we really need to be showing and encouraging the next generation to recycle and to show them exactly why there is a need to recycle. If we can make recycling a common theme, something that is natural and should be done regardless of whether they want to or not, then hopefully the next generation will see recycling as part of every day life and not something that they “should” do.

Below, we look at some of the simple, yet productive ways to encourage pupils and students to recycle in the School environment.

Show Them The Process – If your local area has a recycling plant, a site visit is a great way to show the pupils how one thing can be turned into another and at the same time makes education much more fun. If this is not possible, there are lots of videos online which show the recycling process which can really aid the development and encouragement when it comes to recycling.

Encourage Mini Targets – Targets can be a great way of getting everyone to join in the recycling scheme. Maybe you can set your target at 1000 cans in a month, or 1000 newspapers that they need to bring in from home to achieve the target. You can use big graphical measuring tools on the wall which they can be involved with as the time goes on, which always makes things a lot more fun and rewarding.

Look At The Consequences Of Not Recycling – Although important not to act by frighten people, by explaining the consequences of everyone not pulling together and recycling can be a good way to get more of the pupils involved. You can also tie in climate change, environmental factors and many other related subjects to make this seem part of the usual learning course.

Offer Mini Rewards – Like most walks of life, if you offer someone a reward they will work harder to hit the targets or produce something of quality. The rewards can be small; maybe part of the existing school rewards scheme, but by offering small little tokens when a child recycles something or brings something into be recycled can really get the recycling message home.

Show Before And After Products – For most adults it is amazing what things can be turned into, so for children it will be even more spectacular. By getting an old fizzy drink can and a picture of an Aeroplane and then explaining that this old fizzy pop can could one day end up being used to make a stunning new Aeroplane will really get them thinking.

Make It Fun – By making things seem like fun, children will be encouraged to recycle and the message will sink in a lot faster. Like most things in life, if education is made to be a fun activity then children and younger people generally gain a lot more from it. You can find games, videos and other interactive things online to really make the whole process seem like a game when in fact they are learning by doing.

………………………………………………..
Recycling Clothes – How To Recycle Your Unwanted Clothes - By: Acorn Office


When it comes to recycling, many people only think of the core recycling materials, things like cardboard, plastic and paper, and tend to overlook the importance of recycling clothing and unwanted clothes. There are many people who have less privileged existences that can really benefit from affordable second hand clothing, and at the same time it helps to reduce general waste and increase recycling levels.

Below, we take a look at the most common and easy ways of recycling your unwanted clothes.

Charity Shop – With many charity shops now rejecting the majority of electrical and other types of equipment along these lines, the importance of clothing as a way of raising money has never been more important. Although the shops can be quite selective about what they might sell, it gives you the chance to not only recycle your unwanted clothing but to also support the charity of your choice.

Charity Bag Collection – Following on the from the above point, if you are like the majority of home owners in the UK, you will get a large selection of charity collection bags popped through your letter box every month, especially approaching the colder months. Once again, this is a great way to get rid of any clothes you no longer need and to also support the charity of your choice.

Recycling Centre – The majority of the larger recycling centres will have a place to drop off your unwanted and unneeded clothes, with most going to a charity or good cause. This can make life much easier because you can combine your weekly recycling run of paper, cardboard and other types of material with popping your clothes into the car at the same time and running them to the local recycling centre.

Car Boot / Jumble Sale – This can be a fantastic way of making some money and at the same time recycling your old clothes and allowing people who might be less advantaged than you to benefit from affordable clothes. As long as the clothes are wearable and in reasonable condition, you should be able to sell the majority of your wanted wears, especially children’s clothes which tend to sell very well at these kinds of events.

Pass To Family Members – Handing down your clothes to siblings or other relations is in fact still a form of recycling, meaning that even by doing something this simple can still make a massive impact on the continuation of the usage of clothes. Things like jumpers and trousers do tend to last for a long time and even if the clothes are slightly warn they can still make excellent play clothes or clothes for nursery etc.

…………………………………………………………


Christmas Is Coming – Time To Recycle Your Old Clothes And Toys - By: Acorn Office



With Christmas only a short time away, now is the perfect time to get rid of your old clothes, toys and other items you no longer need. This year, instead of just chucking them into the bin, have you thought about recycling them so that these unwanted items can either be reused or made into something new?

Every year in the UK, millions of tons worth of what most people think of rubbish is added to our overgrowing landfills, with space rapidly running out and landfills becoming filled literally to the max. When we actually look at the items that are thrown away, we can see that a large majority of this so called rubbish can actually be recycled, not only saving the planet but also helping to save the country from becoming overly wasteful.

Christmas sees many new things come into our lives, with clothes, toys, watches, jewellery and kitchen products all popular Christmas presents, either to replace a similar product that has worn out or maybe just an upgrade, like a TV of games console. If the old products that you no longer want end up in the bin, then it can mean unnecessary waste going into these landfills, when most of the time these discarded items could either be re-used or made into something else.

If you get a new games console for example this Christmas, you do not need to just chuck the old one into the bin. There are many options including:

• Passing the item down to a family member or close friend
• Selling the item on Ebay or other auction sites if its still useable
• Giving it away to a charity or local organisation who might make use of it
• Taking it to your local recycling area where they can use the parts or other aspects of your unwanted product to make other things

There we have four options which all mean your old product will not end up in a landfill and you can use your shiny new item with the sense of satisfaction that you have not added to the countries landfill issue and you might have made someone else very, very happy at the same time.

Although most charities will not accept electrical items or things of a similar nature, they will always want old clothes, books and children’s toys that can simply be cleaned up and sold on. The money they raise can help the charity survive and also give the gift of something new to a family who might not be able to afford a brand new item.

So, this Christmas, try to recycle instead of just throwing it into the bin.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………