Recycling challenges are often caused by small everyday habits. By paying attention to how waste is handled in your office, you can quickly spot what is not working well and take simple steps to improve it.
Common signs of recycling challenges include:
- A lot of waste ending up in the general waste bin
- Recycling bins containing mixed or incorrect waste
- Some bins always being full, while others are rarely used
- People seeming unsure about where to throw things
- Waste being left next to bins instead of inside them
To identify what might be the cause, check high-traffic areas such as kitchens, meeting rooms, and social areas. Look for items that are often sorted incorrectly, such as coffee cups, food packaging, and cardboard.
If you notice incorrect recycling, small changes can make a big difference. Clearer labels, better bin placement, and simple reminders to colleagues can all help improve sorting.
You can also use your waste data to support what you see in practice. For example, high levels of general waste or low recycling rates may indicate that sorting is not working as it should.
A good first step is to focus on one problem area at a time and make one simple improvement. You can use Carrot for Tenants to access your waste data and track how changes are working out in practice.
