Stupidity
My firm has never had an official recycling program. Last year, an associate on our team who was a bit of an earthy-crunchy type took it upon herself to start an office-wide recycling program, buying large blue bins to go in the kitchen on every floor. She found volunteers to agree to take the contents of the bin to a recycling center every week, and encouraged us all to save up our water bottles and soda cans and put them in the recycling bin. It sort of worked, even though it relied upon the time of the volunteers and was not officially sanctioned by the office.
We just learned that the entire building has contracted with a company whose name I will not reveal because I don't want to get in trouble, to provide recycling services to the entire building. As part of that program, we are told that each of us will have a trash bag with a clear liner under our desks where we may throw paper, cans and bottles, and other clean recyclable materials. Apparently the program will involve sorting of the contents of that bin by some other person. We are advised that everything else should be thrown into the garbage cans (with black trash bags lining them...this is VERY IMPORTANT, we are told) in the kitchen on each floor.
I've had a trash can with a clear liner under my desk for over three years now. We didn't get NEW trash cans, they simply re-tasked them to the recycling program. The problem is that most of us have other things we throw away during the day that are not recyclable, such as the remainders of our lunch when we eat at our desks, the tissues when we blow our noses, the rind of an orange, etc. So some of us asked the office manager if we would be getting a separate trash can where were could throw these things away at our desks. The answer? We either have to all carry those things to the kitchen trash can, or we are "allowed" to bring a small trash bag from home to throw such items away in and take to the kitchen at the end of the day. They won't even provide the second trash bag!
So, to summarize: I am now only allowed to throw away clean paper, plastic and alumnium at my desk. If I want to throw away anything else, I have to either walk it halfway across the floor to the kitchen or have had the foresight to have found and brought in my own damn trash bag from home. All because they don't want to provide a second trash can at each desk for non-recyclables.
This is freaking STUPID.
6 comments:
Same deal at my office. :P
So some of us asked the office manager if we would be getting a separate trash can where were could throw these things away at our desks. The answer? We either have to all carry those things to the kitchen trash can, or we are "allowed" to bring a small trash bag from home to throw such items away in and take to the kitchen at the end of the day.
That's how it is at our office too, but I don't mind it. It's nice to have a reason to get up from the desk and walk around from time to time.
So, just out of curiosity What happens if an orange peel *inadvertently* finds itself in the trashcan with the *very important* clear liner?
Amber is right (of course ;-) that's it good to get up and walk around a bit. But, say you have a lunch meeting in your office and want to clear away the lunch to get back to work? "Excuse me, Mr *Very Important* customer, I have to take our lunch trash across the building. Yes, I know your time is valuable... "
Same in my office. At the end of the day I find myself pulling garbage out of the "recycling" can and bringing it to the "garbage" can in the break room. Don't mind the walk but as force of habit, I am constantly throwing stuff in the can and then remembering (or sometimes not) to move it later.
Speaking of which, thanks for reminding me...
Catherine, I wonder what happens too, esp. bc there are some ppl in our office who do not observe the rule of the clear liner! They still throw all their food trash in the trashcan in their cube. Must be annoying for whoever sorts that stuff... but I really don't know what happens to it after it's taken away into The Void.
I presume if the can is considered "contaminated" with non-recyclables then the entire contents go into regular trash and are not recycled.
I just want to know why they can't buy us all a second trash can for actual trash. Have a blue one for recyclables, a black one for non-recyclables, and be done with it.
It is dumb that I am going to have to go buy my own second trash can.
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