Attainable Green Goals To Set For Your Business

Have you been thinking about your green goals for your workplace? Perhaps it is high time you and your colleagues joined hands and tried to achieve some green credentials. Here are some ideas on how to do this in your office.

What to achieve next year…

• Announce to clients and customers that you are taking steps toward going green
• Start an incentive program for departments who reduce their waste output and include recycling.
• Increase the number of staffers who bike to work by 25%.
• Reduce energy usage by 5%. Easy ways to reduce energy use include turning appliances off at the powerpoint and using cloth towels for hand drying.
• Start an office composting program.

What to achieve in the next five years…

• Go for a cool roof, skylights, garden roof and season it with solar panels.
• Reduce energy usage by 20%.
• Commodes and sinks have more efficient models waiting to be found.
• Replace your heating and cooling system with one with more programming options.
• Go tankless! Depending on your office size, switch to a tankless water heater.

What to achieve in the next ten years…

• Use natural lighting to keep your electrical lights off as much as possible.
• Embrace the future and technology and meet with clients and associates via video conferencing. This will reduce transportation emissions and costs. Allow staff to work from home and save on expenses and pollution.
• Use collected rainwater and other natural irrigation options to help with your landscaping options. Top it off with organic fertiliser and protect it with natural pest control.
• Go even greener! Upgrade your building to LEED standards.
• Contract an environmental scientist or consultant. They can help you lower your environmental impact and create a plan to reduce it in the future.

Green For The Team

Alsco is a home of solutions that can help you in your road to a greener workplace. Products such as Evolution Mats, Continuous Towels and Ecosafe Washers. The revolutionary Evolution Mats are made from recycled eco-friendly materials. The Cloth Towel impacts the environment on a much smaller scale Cotton towels represent a much better solution than paper. Finally, Ecosafe Washers are purely water based and they transform oil and grease into water and carbon dioxide.

If you are interested in learning more, why not ask Alsco directly. You could start the green office of your dreams in a matter of days.

Photo courtesy of Freepik Images by katemangostar

5 Office Recyclables That May Surprise You

When talking about the recycling of office supplies, everyone thinks of paper and plastics as the most common recyclables.

Documents, waste paper, stiff cardboard boxes used for wrapping sandwiches and other food, are only a few items on the long list of office recyclables.

If we add to the list of plastic bottles and wrapping, we get the usual contents of an average recycling bin in an office. But have you ever thought of adding more to the list?

Here are some of the common office items you should consider recycling.

1. Mobile Phones

With the ever-growing demand to always be up-to-date and get the newest model of a particular mobile phone, old ones are left in our back drawers at home, only to be looked at as memories of something old and obsolete.

Set up a phone recycling bin at work and ask your employees and coworkers to bring their old mobile phones. This way, you can contribute to reducing e-waste which has become one of the growing problems in the modern world.

Apart from this, there are big recycling initiatives you can take part in that encourage people to donate or recycle their old phones. Autism NZ has teamed up with the mobile phone recycler Swapkit NZ in their joint project of swapping old phones for new technology.

2. Eyeglasses

When you get a new pair of eyeglasses, you never even take a look at your old ones, let alone use them. But, as a matter of fact, they can be reused. Lions Club International collects old eyeglasses, which are tested, packaged and sent for distribution to those with poor eyesight in the Pacific Islands.

Why not set up an eyeglasses box, and ask staff members to donate their old eyeglasses? Before you know it, the eyeglasses will be on their way to Fiji, Samoa or Tonga, where they will be used by those who need them and might not be able to afford them.

3. Broken And Damaged Gadgets

Have you or anyone you know ever accidentally dropped your mobile phone in the water or spilt hot coffee over it? Probably yes.

At work, employees use different gadgets, such as desk phones or calculators, that they can accidentally drop, crush or destroy by spilling drinks over them. Most of them cannot be used again so you may as well get rid of them by placing them in a special recycle bin for office gadgetry.

4. Umbrellas And Rainwear

How many times have you seen your colleagues tossing their broken umbrellas in the rubbish at work after a windstorm? Most people still don’t know about umbrella and rainwear recycling. The same goes for raincoats, and any waterproof clothing made of polyester.

So, rather than throwing away valuable recycling material, simply place a box for collecting broken umbrellas and torn rainwear and hand it over to your local recycling company. You may need to contact your local Chamber of Commerce to find out which companies take them.

5. Packing Peanuts

These are not your edible peanuts, but polystyrene packing peanuts that come with new electronics goods. Made of polystyrene, it can take them hundreds of years to decompose. Scary, right? This is what you can do with them instead after you have collected them in a box that you had set up in your office:

• Ask companies to take them back
• Donate them to shipping companies
• Send them to a recycling centre
• Give them to a nearby school or community centre for crafting projects
• Put them in the bottom of a planter as they will allow your plants to drain properly

Creating and implementing a comprehensive recycling program is an important step towards a greener workplace.

If you add to your recycling habits other simple steps such as using floor mats made from recycled materials and continuous cloth towel for hand drying, you can rest assured that you’re doing your best to help protect the environment.

Recycle – Go Green!

Recycling is one of the best ways for you to have a positive impact on the environment. Alsco offers a range of solutions to help you make your workplace a green environment, such as Ecosafe Washers, Evolution Mats and Continuous Towels.

Our Ecosafe Washers use water-based solutions with the power of cleaning greasy and dirty places within seconds. The revolutionary Evolution Mats are made from recycled eco-friendly materials, and our Cloth Towel offers significant environmental benefits since it represents an environmentally safer option than paper.

Want to make a difference in protecting the world we live in? We at Alsco are there to help you.

Photo courtesy of Flickr Images by Montgomery Cty Division of Solid Waste Services
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Is Making Your Green Office Paper Free A Good Idea?

Are you completely sure that your office is green enough?

Does it have all kinds of different recycling bins, such as bins for paper, plastics, glass and food? It has energy-saving light bulbs, too?

Well done if so, but you shouldn’t stop there!

There is a way to turn your office into a perfect Green Office. To do that, its carbon footprint has to be reduced to null by getting rid of all the paper possible.

Not only is this kind of office green, but it is also deemed an extremely work efficient environment.

Practical And Financial Benefits

Of course, changing to a paper-free system has many positive practical and financial aspects.

It’s not a secret that storage issues are actually not issues anymore. For that, we can thank storage on hard drives, discs, USB devices and servers. Thus, we are able to fill the room with some office trees, otherwise meant for filing cabinets.

There is no need to print paper and then store it in an actual administrative folder on some shelf. This frees us from paper consumption, so paper supplies are no longer needed.

Statistics from the US show that an average office worker spends around 10,000 paper sheets over a year. The actual cost of using the paper can be up to 31-times the cost of purchasing the paper. Moreover, the international financial services corporation Citigroup has made an interesting estimation – according to it, they would save $700,000 per year if all their employees saved at least one paper from getting damaged per week.

Environmental Benefits

The main goal of going Green is improving the environment and lowering carbon footprint in your office. In fact, the greenest thing you can do is to be a 100% paper-free office.

The reason is simple: the impact is much greater.

Over time, statistics have shown that cardboard products and paper take up the largest part of landfill refuse.

In 1994, the paper was 40% of total solid waste accumulated in the US, but it has decreased to only 28%, according to the EPA. Once the paper is in the landfill, it takes a significant amount of time for it to decompose (15 years). That creates a gas called methane, which is one of the most devastating greenhouse gases. Methane gas is around 21 times powerful in heat preserving than CO2.

If you go paper-free, the trees will surely like you! Why? Well, even though we can recycle unnecessary paper, some trees still need to be cut down. That is because there is still a need for a particular virgin wood pulp in paper production.

Despite people being very aware of global deforestation, its rates have risen up to 400% over the last 4 decades.

According to environmentalprofessionalsnetwork.com, around 4 billion trees are used in the paper industry. That makes 35% of worldwide harvested trees.

Needless to say, if we were to reduce paper dependency to zero in every office, the rate of tree-felling is sure to, well… fall down!

And yes, trees will absolutely love you because of it!

Dispensers For Cloth Towels

Now that you’re familiar with the benefits of going paper-free, we at Alsco can help you easily achieve it.

It has been shown that most people prefer air drying their hands to using cloth towels.

However, when it comes to continuous cloth towel, there are considerable environmental benefits.

Out of all hand drying systems, it has the lowest environmental influence. It has also been shown that, when it comes to hand drying, cloth towels are the most efficient in removing bacteria.

Hygienic hand drying is a crucial element in having your hands actually clean.

If you’re interested, Alsco’s friendly representative will be pleased to be of assistance.

Photo courtesy of Freepik Images by peoplecreations

How to Make Your Business More Green

If you consider yourself to be leading a modern type of business, it’s also important to have an eco-friendly business.

Going green is not just about recycling anymore; it’s about promoting business methods that are proven to be efficient in terms of the preservation of the environment.

Making your business eco-friendly is not something you can do overnight, but still, it’s an effort well invested. Keep reading to learn how to “Go Green” at work.

The eco-friendly business model is not perfect of course, but it still does its purpose of adopting sustainable methods that will help you save both energy and money.

They are good not only for your business but the environment as well, and by introducing a couple of changes to your way of work, you can do your part in its preservation.

Our Sustainability Stories offer the kind of ideas that can help you turn your business green, so we’ve come up with a list of 6 things that are guaranteed to help your business, your reputation, and your environment.

Why is Going Green Important?

Checking out the statistics should tell you enough. Research has shown that more and more people are aware of climate change and are becoming interested in the preservation of the environment. Thus, any business that promotes a healthier work environment is more appreciated by the public.

In developed countries, research shows that people are generally anywhere from extremely concerned to moderately concerned when it comes to climate change. Only about 5% of people tend to put themselves in the “not concerned” category.

People are also of the opinion that businesses should be doing more to make their businesses eco-friendly. A large majority of the population agrees that it is unacceptable for a business to focus more on their profit than on the pollution and harm they might be causing the environment, and some even think that businesses that do cause pollution should be punished for it and severely charged if they choose to continue in the same way.

Some may think that small and medium-sized businesses can’t do much, but ignoring the needs and desires of their customers can only lead to commercial disaster, which can harm their reputations and chances of success. Also, every little thing matters, so even the small things done by small businesses can help when it comes to overall accomplishments.

How to Turn Your Business Eco-Friendly in 6 Simple Steps

So how do you go green? Does it have to imply introducing life-changing rules and strict regulations that will make working at the office just more difficult? Not really. The steps are simple and while they do require effort, the results will make everything worth the effort. Here are six steps.

1. Make Some Cutbacks

Not exactly the first thing that would come to mind, but saving money on resources is one of the best places to start.

This implies using less paper, printing less, turning off lights after leaving the rooms (if nobody else is inside, of course) and not turning them on during sunny days when there’s enough natural light.

This step depends greatly on the decisions that workers make every day, so it’s important that everybody knows how much they can contribute. For example, they may ask themselves:

• Do I need to turn the lights on, or is there enough natural light?
• Do I really need this document printed? If I do, can I use both pages?
• Is this paper recycled?
• Does my workplace provide recycling bins for plastic, paper, glass, etc.? If not, why not?
• Are there places designated for waste?
• Can I pack my lunch instead of buying one and increasing waste?
• Am I the last one leaving this room, and if yes, why not turn the lights off?

2. Use Energy-Saving Appliances

Replacing your old appliances with new, energy-saving ones is one of the best ways to upgrade your office. This is a much bigger change than simply turning the computer off or using energy-efficient light bulbs. Your workplace appliances usually waste a lot of energy, more than they need for sure, which only makes them produce a greater carbon footprint.

As already said, the best way to deal with this problem is to upgrade your appliances to newer, more energy-efficient models. The difference in energy consumption can range between 50% and 90%, so think about upgrading from laser printers to ink-jet ones, and from old computers to modern laptops (which are also more convenient since they can be used on the go).

Also, think about replacing your hand dryers in the restrooms with paper towels. While there, consider reducing the waste of water by installing automatic-stopping taps, and think about installing dual-flush toilets, which use about 25% of the water the older single-flush toilets do. Urinals can also save water, as much as 30% per flush.

One survey asked 2,000 retail and manufacturing professionals how they managed to save on energy costs – around 31% said that they saved money by switching to energy-efficient appliances, while 22% said that automatic lighting and automated energy control systems have really helped them reduce their energy bills.

When looking for energy-efficient appliances for your workplace, check out New Zealand’s own Energy Rating Label for information on the best options. It would also be worthwhile to read the advice EECA is offering.

3. Control The Temperature

Heating and cooling systems can also contribute to the waste of energy if not used properly. But you can reduce the amount of energy they consume by regulating their use or by installing energy-efficient ventilation, heating, and air-conditioning systems. Around 40% of a business’s energy consumption is due to these systems, but if you use them correctly, you could save up to 50%. If you’re interested in learning more, check out this article about saving energy in the office. For starters, there are a couple of small things you could do.

• Instead of using AC, open the windows and let some fresh air inside. You can also install a couple of
  fans that require less energy than ACs.
• Prevent the heat from escaping during the cold days by using weather strips on the base of your doors.
• To keep your HVAC equipment working properly, make sure it’s regularly serviced and cleaned.
• Install a heating system timer so you don’t have to think about it (and so you don’t forget about it), you can just set it to go off after work and come on an hour before.

4. Promote Green Commuting

Another great way to lower your carbon footprint is by encouraging your employees to use greener methods of transport. Considering that every aspect of your business contributes to your carbon footprint, motivating your workers to travel using more eco-friendly modes of transport could lower the carbon footprint of your business.

Inspiring your employees to opt for greener transport options can influence both society and the nation. People’s awareness about the benefits of using public transport, carpooling, and generally choosing eco-friendly ways of travelling to work is still at a fairly low level.

For example, Australians are among the least frequent users of local public transport, and the least likely to go to work on foot or ride a bike to work. In fact, only 9% of Australians ride a bicycle to work at least once per week.

When it comes to eco-friendly commuting choices, some of the most popular ones are:

• Carpooling – sharing a car when travelling to work, which automatically reduces the number of cars on the road (and thus, the fuel consumption and pollution by the greenhouse gases).
• Public transport – these types of vehicles have to be on the road anyway, so might as well opt for them when commuting.
• Walking – healthy, calming and perfect for employees living close to their work.
• Cycling – if you live between 5km and 15km away from work, this might just be the perfect option for you.

Studies on Financial Incentives To Ride To Work have shown that more than 80% of workers aged between 25 and 54 support the idea of cycling to work rather than driving – with adequate financial incentives. This might imply a tax deduction for the bicycles purchased by employees or direct/indirect subsidies paid to workers.

There are many ways in which you can inspire your employees to choose greener and healthier commuting methods. They don’t necessarily have to include financial compensation, but it is one of the options you could check with your local authority.

5. Try to Be More Proactive

Most people have certain habits that they can’t change that easily regardless of what you tell them. Showing them clear benefits of the changes you want to apply and getting them involved from the very start might be a great way to introduce a sustainable Go Green programme.

Involve Your Staff – organise a team of people who will be in charge of your business’s eco-friendly programme and in-house recycling. Reducing energy consumption and recycling can be more easily initiated by working together.

Your job is to make all the necessary resources easily available, and you should have no problems adopting the best principles and practices. Also, try to make it more fun – encourage your employees to think of different events and activities that could help promote a greener lifestyle.

Educate Your Staff on the Benefits – your employees are more likely to get on board with your ideas if they know why those ideas are good for them and the environment. You can promote the benefits of going green by, for example, putting up posters or offering a monthly Go Green newsletter where your workers can find all the information they might need.

6. Use Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products

This step, even though often overlooked, is essential when it comes to building a greener workplace. Just like homes, every workplace needs to be cleaned, which includes using all kinds of chemical cleaning products.

Considering the amount of work that implies, choosing eco-friendly detergents is surely going to influence the green aspect of your workplace. Of course, you can outsource this process if your workplace is a bit larger, but make sure your cleaning company is aware of your eco-friendly goals.

If they are unwilling to change, you might want to consider other options, but most already offer environmentally friendly cleaning services. Environmental Choice New Zealand (ECNZ) casts an eye over the status of a wide variety of products, including cleaning products. Look for their Environmental Choice New Zealand licensed product. Also, check out what the national environmental research and education body, New Zealand Association for Environmental Education, is saying for more on eco-labelling and what you should be looking out for.

Alsco’s own Fresh & Clean range offers cleaner restroom hygiene options, while for workshops and garages, Alsco’s EcoSafe Washer provides effective, eco-friendly machine parts washing.

Most modern businesses already have everything they need to go green, so adopting a programme such as Go Green should hardly be a problem. And besides, you can find plenty of suggestions and ideas about making your business more eco-friendly.

We have included a lot of links here already, but if you’re interested, you could also check these out:

• About New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets from the Ministry for the Environment
• New Zealand’s Government Business website for a host of details on the individual state environmental legislation and codes of practice, as well as federal energy, grants and awards advice and environmental management efficiency opportunities and code of practice.

Happy Going Green!

What Everybody Ought to Know About Going Paper-Free in Your Office

You started your own business, hired people, decorated your working space, offices and washrooms.

Also, now you’ve decided to be more eco-aware in your business, so you want to make your office more Green.

Firsts steps usually include buying separate recycle bins for glass, paper, plastics and food, and replacing the light bulbs with energy-saving ones.

Excellent for a start, but you have to be aware there is a lot more you can do!

If you want to reach the level of a perfectly Green Office, reducing its carbon footprint to basically nil is a must! The best way to do this is to get rid of the office paper completely.

After you do this, you won’t get just a paper-free office, but that type of office is considered to be one of the most efficient working and administrative environments.

Fewer Tasks, More Money

There are many positive aspects of going paper-free, both practical and financial.

Practical benefits are numerous. For example, after you introduce a paper-free system, there will be no printing anymore, as well as no filing or storing a bunch of paperwork. As a result, there won’t be a need for so many filing cabinets or other storage spaces, which immediately means – fewer cleaning tasks.

You can then decorate those new empty spaces in your office with some plants or office trees. All the files can be easily saved on hard drives, servers or memory sticks.

There is always an option to set your computer to save all the documents automatically, so you won’t even have to spend time clicking on the “save” button!

After all, this also means more time for some other activities which is always a plus!

When it comes to financial benefits, the first, self-explanatory one is that you won’t spend money on paper supplies anymore. In addition, you won’t need so many shelves, closets and all other pieces of furniture which are used for file and document storage, so you don’t spend money on these.

According to one research, a typical US worker usually uses about 10,000 sheets of paper per year, which is approximately 2 cases of paper per employee.

If we take into account that an average price in the USA is about $40 for a case, the simple calculation tells us that each employee spends $80 per year just on paper.

Now do the maths and see how much money you could save with this simple step!

Nice numbers, right?

Benefits From Nature

The fact that trees give us the oxygen is very well-known, isn’t it? Also, trees are used for making and producing paper. Now, after going paperless in your office, could you even imagine how much you do for our environment?

Paper industry is the 2nd largest energy consumer. Do you remember the calculation mentioned above? So, if one employee approximately uses 10,000 sheets of paper and you have a thousand employees in your company, that’s 10 million pages only for one year.

Environmental impact of 10 million pages is 2,500 cut trees! A lot for one year and one average-sized company, wouldn’t you agree?

The whole idea of Going Green is to improve the environment. However, the greenest policy would be not just to reduce using paper in your office, but to remove it from the office entirely! After all, zero paper means zero trees need to be cut!

Remember, taking care of trees means taking care of your planet and the environment, but it also means taking care of yourself!

Go One Step Further with an Ecosafe Washer

After you implement this idea of going paper-free, why wouldn’t you go one step further with Alsco’s help?

Alsco offers a range of eco-friendly managed floorcare rental services. These mats are made of high-quality materials that can keep your workplaces clean, safe, hygienic and accident-free.

The Dust Control Mats can capture 80% of dirt, absorb three (3) litres of water and above all it will last for years. You can even consider Alsco’s Managed Rental service which includes regular cleaning, picking up and delivering products to your workplace.

Moreover, there’s absolutely NO risk at all since you have 2-week free trial for it. Do not miss this opportunity! Contact us Alsco now, and their friendly representatives will be happy to offer you the best solution for your needs!

Reusable vs Disposable: Why This Battle Matters

Admittedly, there is something infinitely convenient about disposable cutlery. After all, it’s light, easy to carry about, and once you’re done with it, you can chuck it in the bin and never worry about it again.

Reusable cutlery, for its part, requires cleaning and storage. But who has time for that? You do.

Seriously, it’s a far better investment—not just for you—but for the environment as well.

In this article, we take a look at why it’s smarter to go for reusable anything rather than disposable. We cover the arguments and the benefits that a little extra effort will get you.

Reusable Is Much More Affordable

Image from: Flickr by Peggy_Marco

Buying disposable cutlery means a constant, consistent daily expense.

Even if that expense is rather small—especially if you skimp on quality, that’s all still going to add up eventually. What seems like a small expense today is going to be quite the expense in a year!

The alternative, reusable cutlery, is a one-time expense.Unless you’re exceedingly careless and manage to lose the set you’ve bought, these won’t cost you a dime more their entire lifetime.

In today’s world where every little bit counts, the kind of savings this brings adds up quickly.

Reusable Is Far More Durable

Image from: Pixabay by Hans

For all their convenience, eating with disposable cutlery isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

For one thing, these tend to be painfully small. For another thing, regardless of the quality, they’re still essentially flimsy plastic. This means that they might break at absolutely the worst time—like while you try to eat.

No matter how “cheap” you go with reusable cutlery, it’s still going to be more durable.

The really “affordable” ones might bend a little when used with a little more vigour, but at least they’re never going to break apart when you’re eating.

Reusable Is Way Healthier

Image from: Pixabay by Hans

Consider the disposable cutlery handed to you. Where was it stored? Was it handled by someone with dirty hands? What were the manufacturing conditions it was born into?

Did its maker have any true quality control? Disinfection? Higher standards?

Of course, you could argue and then go and wash your disposable cutlery. But that defeats the purpose of it being far more convenient.

You’d be better off with reusable cutlery. Unless you’re terrible at the basic task of washing things up, you’re golden.

Reusable Is Kinder to the Environment

Image from: Flickr by Dan4th Nicholas

Disposable cutlery is the product of mass manufacturing processes—which aren’t too kind to Mother Earth, to begin with.

Considerable energy goes into it, for one. For another, the processes involved also require a lot of natural resources. And when you’re done using them, they get chucked in a bin.

While some of these can and are recycled, a lot gets dumped into landfills where they build up and collect over time, causing a lot of dangerous waste to the environment.

Reusable cutlery already solves that problem—all of those problems, in fact. That’s in its name.

Reusable Cutlery Options

Image from: Pixabay by Hans

When you say reusable cutlery, people automatically think metals. And, indeed, the best kinds of reusable cutlery are, in fact, made of sturdy metal.

Apart from being the easiest to clean and the most durable, metal cutlery is also the most sanitised due to the processes in which they are made.

Increasingly, bamboo is also proving to be a great alternative to metal reusable cutlery. It’s significantly lighter to be a wide margin. This particular material also inherits the strength and tensile durability of the plant from which it is hewn.

Lastly, and kind of amusingly, some reusable cutlery is actually made from plastic! What makes this unique is the particular treatment of the plastics when they’re being manufactured. This ensures that they last longer than the average plastic spoon, that they’re also more sanitary than the average plastic spoon, and are just as effective as reusable spoons made from other materials.

About the Crockery and All Other Things

Image from: Flickr by Didriks

The same arguments above still apply to other items like plates, dishes, and cups. Even if you talk about the paper-hewn versions, you’re still looking at a lot of waste generated that might be recycled. Might.

This means that there’s still the off-chance that they build up into a nasty, disgusting pile in some landfill somewhere.

The central idea behind reusables is compacted efficiency and true awareness. Investing in these long term is smart and the only option worth considering.

If you’re all for the environment, it’s important to act like it. For workplaces and companies looking for ecologically friendly products that help contribute to the environment and improvement of office life, Alsco is the partner they can trust.

For years, we’ve been the most reliable and called upon commercial solutions providers for companies this side of the world.

Call us today and we’ll be more than happy to find the best solutions for your office needs.

Photo: cocoparisienne

Staying Clean and Green with Reusable Food Wipes

Long before the advent of green cleaning practices, business operations in maintaining a clean workplace were considered a very wasteful activity.

Fortunately, these days, it is possible to introduce small but pivotal changes in cleaning practices in an industrial setting.

That can help promote environmental sustainability without compromising cleaning quality.

These changes can be implemented at the macro level of power plants down to the smaller or micro-level of keeping clean kitchens in a tiny restaurant or café business. And for the latter, the switch from old school methods to reusable food wipes is one such change. It is a simple but effective solution that holds a lot of promise.

Disposable Paper Cleaner’s Downside

The ushering in of reusable products like cotton and microfiber food wipes emerged after a long-standing history of using disposable paper products to wipe off gunk or dirt from the kitchen surfaces.

The paper cleaner’s shelf life comes with an expiration date on its sterile period where it can later be more harmful to use than discard. In contrast, you can wash and reuse a micro-fibre food wipe by as many as 500 times.

Photo Courtesy of Flickr Image by jchapiewsky

Despite this downside, there are still instances where disposable paper products are practical. For example, one time events like outdoor parties leave a little provision for hoisting a whole set of cleaning products and require a mobile cleaning setup.

But for more regular operations like maintaining a café or a restaurant, long-term cleaning solutions are in order.

Nuances of Cloth Materials for Cleaning

Not all reusable food wipes are created equal. Cotton is a natural material, while microfiber is a synthetic material. The ability to absorb depends on your choice, and each type has its own set of advantages and disadvantages.

Cotton is ubiquitous as a naturally occurring fibre in the world. On the other hand, micro-fibre has a greater ability to absorb and withstand a diverse array of kitchen dirt types. Your choice will also depend on which part of the kitchen needs wiping.

For example, glassware and drying activities are best done with the use of natural cotton cloths. A more special type of cotton cloth called a cotton tea towel is popular for dish drying. Wine glasses, on the other hand, demand an expert use of damp polyester material.

In case of temperature extremes, cotton can handle hot temperatures better than polyester material.

In a normal kitchen cleaning setup, it may be advantageous to have both types at your easy disposal.

Standards and Color Coding Designations for Reusable Food Wipes

There is nothing random or disorganized about the commercial use of items like polyester or cotton food wipes. The selection of the reusable food wipes is not a whim or a fleeting trend in cleaning kitchens.

Four colours govern the use of this item in kitchens: green for raw food, blue for cooked food, pink for food establishment cleaning, and white for general purposes.

Even if the humble stature of the cotton wipes takes a small space in your cleaning arsenal, it is upheld by a global food safety standard. The colour-coding mechanism was upheld by the HACCP Food Safety system. This system makes sure that there is less risk of contamination. Raw food and final prepared food need to be separated and treated differently.

This just goes to show that there are high standards at play. A simple cotton dishcloth for cleaning just would not cut it if you are really planning to impress the food establishment authorities during your restaurant’s official audit.

Strong Cleaning Ingredients Beget Strong Reusable Wipes

One of the limitations of disposable paper cleaning wipes for kitchens is the fact that they are not usually strong enough to handle chemicals that are essential for disinfecting the kitchen surfaces. Each area in the kitchen requires a specific type of chemical.

Photo Courtesy of Flickr Image by Keith Williamson

Worksurface and cooking equipment benefit from a controlled dosage of chlorine, iodine, or bleach. Some of the heavier equipment in the kitchen may be cleansed using alkali detergents. On the other hand, you can use acid for floors, walls, and ovens. The rest of the items with less specific requirements can use a traditional cleaning substance.

Busting Bacteria and Vermin through Sound Kitchen Cleaning Practices

Ultimately, it’s not enough to switch from one type of food wipe to another. The choice of your cleaning solution must be embedded under the holistic view of keeping a clean kitchen: sustaining excellent facilities for your business and fostering a habit of killing bacteria and vermin.

Photo Courtesy of Flickr Image by Trevor Owens

One of the problems with using the old style of disposable paper cleaning materials is the proliferation of bacteria. Disposable cleaning items are much harder to sterilize.

The biggest possible bane to a food-related endeavour is to have a sullied reputation due to a lack of sanitation practices. It can be hard to bounce back after earning the infamy of having dirty and unsafe food preparation facilities.

Alsco proudly offers both cotton and micro-fibre fabrics in our effort to promote environmentally sustainable cleaning solutions. To get started with high-quality reusable food wipes, contact us today! 

Green Workplace Reminder: Go For Reusable Crockery & Cutlery

Get a green workplace.  This means everyone is on board with the changes to turn the office green.

Because we know that your team is working hard enough already, we made these handy posters that will remind everyone in your workplace (including you) of simple green ideas.

All you have to do is download them here, print, and pin or post them anywhere in your office with a blu-tack, pushpins, or glue.

Download PDF file (782 KB)

You can also start using green products such as floor mats made from recycled materials and continuous cloth towel for hand drying – all simple but effective ways to ‘green your office’.

Alsco Evolution Mats

Alsco’s Entrance Mats

Alsco offers a range of commercial and industrial mats, including the Evolution Mat.

Aside from having a great range of features that include thicker pile and premium quality, Alsco’s mats are also made from recycled materials that help eliminate the need for raw production materials.

These re-engineered materials produce more efficient products that use less water and energy in the cleaning process.

Alsco’s Anti-Fatigue & Wet Area Mats

Keeping your convenience in mind, Alsco also provides a fully managed rental service and supplies clean and undamaged mats every time.

Alsco is committed to improvements that promote environmental sustainability and social responsibility.

Contact Alsco to enjoy a Free Evolution Mat Trial.

Photo: Startup Stock Photos

Go ‘Green’ on your Cutlery and Reduce Unnecessary Waste

There is more to going ‘Green’ than opting for green lunches. It’s more than just munching on a healthy salad. You might also want to consider the cutlery you use.

Are you using real eco-friendly cutlery or the usual plastic ones that go straight to the bin after just one use?

Eating healthy is good for everyone. Or is it, really? The thing is, while going for the ‘Green’ diet is good for your body, it may not necessarily mean it’s also good for the environment.

Most local healthy food joints deliver food in biodegradable packaging and wrappings but what about the little spoons or forks that you use? What are they made of?

This eco-friendly cutlery is usually categorized as ‘biodegradable’ – those you can dispose of without doing harm to the environment, or ‘reusable’ which means those you can simply wash and wipe and they’re good to use again.

Eco-friendly Cutlery Choices are within your reach

Image from: Pixabay by Hans

• Bring Your Own Cutlery– Zero disposable utensils means zero extra waste. You can always bring your own utensils to work – or pretty much anywhere you go, so you wouldn’t need any cutlery from the food suppliers.

• Metal Cutlery – Metal cutlery definitely helps in going ‘Green’ because they last for a really long time; except for when they disappear one by one over time. But the beauty of having them is that you no longer need to use disposable utensils. A lot of office pantries have metal cutlery that employees wash after use.

Go for Bio-degradable (or compostable) Cutlery

• Wood – They are lightweight, sturdy, and are produced from a completely chemical-free process. Most of them are made from hardwoods like maple, birch, and fast-growing bamboo. So going for wooden cutlery instead of plastic knives, forks, and spoons is definitely more eco-friendly.

Image from: Pixabay by Hans

• Celeplast or PSM (Potato Starch Material) – Who would’ve thought potatoes actually make great eco-friendly cutlery? Celeplast or PSM (Potato Starch Material) may look like plastic at first glance but they are 100% biodegradable. They can resist heat up to 205 F and are durable enough to cut through even steak.

Beware of another version of PSM on the market though. Always check with the caterers what kind of PSM they are using. This Plasticized Starch Material contains 20% petroleum-based resin which definitely not biodegradable.

• PLA (Poly Lactic Acid) – Aside from potatoes, corns are also being used to create ‘Green’ cutlery. Poly Lactic Acid is a type of plastic that is 100% biodegradable. It’s made from corn and is just as durable as the regular plastic cutlery available on the market.

While they can only handle up to 110 F of temperature, PLA utensils are still sturdy enough to handle solid food. The best thing about PLAs is that they will decompose between 60 to 90 days when used and set for composting, doing zero harm to the environment.

Finding Restaurants or Suppliers

The good news is more businesses are now into promoting their ‘Green’ ethics so finding a restaurant that encourages the use of eco-friendly cutlery or biodegradable (compostable) utensils have become a lot easier these days.

Just take a good look around and you’ll surely find a salad bar or restaurant near you. Can’t find them? You might want to check out our Greenfinder.com.au, an online listing or directory of thousands of ‘Green’ businesses and the eco-friendly products they offer.

There is no need to resort to using your fingers to reduce waste and save the Earth. Just take a quick look around and you’ll see. There are actually a lot of more eco-friendly cutlery that you can use.

Sources:

• ‘Compostable Cutlery, Biodegradable Cutlery: The Newest in Green Cutlery Options’, Mr Take Out Bags blog.
• ‘Compostable Cutlery Made From Cereplast’, Treehugger.com.
• ‘What are the Pros and Cons of Using Wooden Cutlery?’, Wisekgeek.com.

Photo: Free-Photos

16 Ways Your Staff Will Start to Love Your Green Initiative

More work for the same paycheck? No wonder your green initiative at the workplace is not working out the way you planned.

In theory, everyone wants to live in a cleaner and greener world, but that enthusiasm deflates rapidly when it involves giving up on one’s comfort.

So, in order for your green initiative to be successful, you will need to sugarcoat it a bit.

Still, it pays off, because going green is much more than a fashion trend. It is a necessity that concerns all of us.

Here are some great tactics for you to use in order to inspire your employees to take a more active role in making your workplace a greener, safer and healthier environment.

1. Make Recycling Easy

The last thing anybody wants is more chores at work. Therefore, do all you can to not make recycling a chore. Put the bins everywhere and make sure that they are convenient.

For example, use a plastic bin with a narrow opening so that the plastic bottles and cups have to be crushed to fit in. it will take a little bit of getting used to, but very soon, people will stop thinking about it and just do it.

2. Bring out the Recycling Posters

Honestly, people sometimes just forget. Help them remember. Put a poster on your paper towel dispenser with a sad monkey cartoon saying “two pieces are enough, don’t you think” or something cooler than this.

“Turn off the lights when leaving, please” is a good thing to put on the inside of the doors. “Make up your mind and then open me!” on the fridge, and the like.

Make sure to include a simple sentence below that explains why that is necessary. For example, opened fridge doors waste up to 120 kWh a year. That is enough for 50 runs of your washing machine.

3. Educate Your Employees on the Reasons for Your Initiative: Be Graphic

Image from: Pixabay by jamesoladujoye

It is much easier to get involved in something when you know why you are doing it. Explaining the reasons and the effects of recycling and other green initiatives will take you a long way.

Don’t be afraid to get graphic. Present the employees with charts, numbers and the comparisons that they can relate to. For example, play a video about plastic bottles and what happens to them.

4. Offer More Environmentally Friendly Workplace Supplies

If you want your employees to be more on the green side, you have to give them examples of how their comfort will not be affected by these changes.

For example, explain how personalised, awesome water bottles are better than the paper cups they use for water.

Show them that their workplace washroom can be thoroughly and perfectly cleaned by using effective, healthy bio-friendly soaps.

Don’t miss out on any opportunity to show them that going green will only change their life quality for the better without causing any inconvenience.

5. Figure Out a Green Dollar Point System

Image from: Pixabay by stevepb

Each time, any of your coworkers do something great, award them with green points or even coins. Figure out the point system together.

• For a great new idea, offer a 25 green dollar coin.
• For the ongoing effort to go green, offer a 15 green dollar coin.
• For constantly separating trash, give out a 5 green dollar coin.

Allow those green dollars to be used for additional perks around the office. For example, 1000 green dollars can earn the employee a day of working from home. Twice as much can earn them an extra day of PTO.

Don’t be worried about losing money on so many days off. Get your accountants involved and you will soon see that the money saved from the green initiatives will cover for the days that your employees weren’t in the office.

6. Make It a Game or Contest

The examples of awesome eco-friendly games and contests around the office are endless. Do your research and involve your employees in choosing the game or contest they want to do.

Let the games begin and watch your coworkers enjoy going green.

7. Make an Example Out of Yourself

It is hard for your employees to believe you really care about something if you are the first one who doesn’t put in the effort for it to happen.

Image from: Unsplash by Igor Peftiev

Go on the rideshares and carpool with them. Be the first one to recycle and bike to work. Set an example that everybody will gladly follow.

8. Get All the Certifications Possible

It is always nice to have your efforts acknowledged. Therefore, getting all the green certificates you can get your hands on will be a strong motivating force. Some of the great certificates and labels you can get in New Zealand include:

• Eco Choice Aotearoa
• Enviro-Mark Solutions
• Green Star
• NABERSNZ

9. Partner Up with Green Businesses

One of the ways to get your employees to accept all that eco-friendly movement is to make their surroundings environmentally conscious. A great way to do this is to do business with other companies that have an ongoing green initiative.

Image from: Pixabay by denvit

After a while, going green will become the only way to go and anybody who is too lazy to do it will simply stand out.

10. Make the Earth Day Fun

If you make Earth Day a day when people are really having fun, you will promote it and people will start anticipating it with great excitement.

Once that happens, it will be easy to introduce all the ideas that this amazing day is all about. Make it the best holiday in the office and everyone’s favourite day.

11. Be Open to Initiatives and Suggestions

Perhaps one of the best ways to make your coworkers enthusiastic about the entire idea is to include them in the decision-making process.

Award all the individual and group initiatives and talk through all the suggestions. People are much more inclined to do things they came up with themselves.

Their initiatives can become their pet projects. What better way to become invested in a green project?

12. Help Organising Carpooling or Environmentally Friendly Transportation

The ecological footprint of each of your employees depends, to a great extent, on their preferred transportation method.

If there is no convenient public transportation to your workplace, help your employees organise rideshares and carpools. Everybody will love those because they reduce their expenses, as well as their ecological footprint.

13. Make Seasonal Actions for Variety

Doing the same things over and over again can kill enthusiasm. You don’t want that. To prevent it, try to add some variety to your activities. For example:

• Water conservation actions during the summer months
• Insulation efforts in winter times

14. Make a Green Team

It’s much easier to get people inspired when they have a go-to person or a team. Moreover, if they are a part of such a team, they are bound to be at the centre of the activities.

The team can organise activities, come up with new ones, monitor the workplace and do many more things.

15. Let the Results Be Tangible and Visible

Give people charts, veggies from the office garden that everybody grows together; numbers stating how much paper is saved in the last quarter – in other words, anything that can directly show the progress.

This will give purpose to their actions and inspire them to do better in the future. Let the amazing mechanisms of what motivates us to do something work for you and the environment.

16. Give Your Employees Something to Brag About

Let’s not forget that going green and doing something good for the environment is trendy, as well. Everybody loves to brag a bit, so give your employees a reason to brag about it.

• Organise a ‘green’ competition on the city level and win
• Implement the additional PTO for exceptional environmentally friendly initiatives
• Offer to make a contract with local markets to reduce the price of the organic food for your employees

This about the stuff that your coworkers can be proud of. It will inspire them to do more.

It has already been told that you should try to make your eco-friendly initiatives as effortless as possible. Also, setting an example and doing business with other green businesses and make a green network.

By partnering with Alsco, you will do all these things at once. Here is how we can help you be a ‘greener’ business and how to include your employees in that initiative:

• We offer eco-friendly cleaning agents that can show your employees just how powerful they can be without hurting the environment.
• We offer managed washroom services that take all the work regarding your washroom off your hands.
• We wash uniforms
• in the most efficient and eco-friendly way,  showing your employees that it can be done and boosting their green efforts.

All this is included in a fantastically low annual fee that is tailored according to your business needs.

Call Alsco today and get your best quote. Things will get a lot easier from that point on. We promise.