How many fractions do you need – and how much space?

The number of fractions determines both recycling rate and how much room you need. A good starting point is to focus on the fractions that make up the largest volume at your office and build from there. A small office can often manage with paper, plastic, food waste, and residual waste. A larger office with a reception, lunch room, and storage area benefits from a full setup with separate bins for cardboard, metal, glass, and returnable cans. Think in modules: a system that can expand as your needs grow saves both money and hassle down the line.

Placement: where should it all go?

The natural sorting points in most offices are the lunch room and kitchenette (food waste, packaging, returnables), near printers and copiers (paper and cardboard), at the entrance and reception (incoming post, junk mail, residual waste), and a central station for the larger fractions. A central station combined with smaller bins closer to workstations keeps the barrier to sorting as low as possible. Make sure bins are also easy for cleaning staff to empty. If that doesn’t work, the whole system falls apart at the last step.

Design and aesthetics: recycling as part of the interior

There’s a stubborn assumption that waste bins have to be bulky and ugly. They don’t. When recycling furniture is designed with the same care as the rest of the interior, it adds to the room instead of detracting from it. Good design also improves sorting rates – well-designed, clearly labelled bins that are easy to use encourage the right behaviour. At TreCe, we always start with the room: material, colour, and form should work with the character of the office, while the function holds up in every detail. Waste sorting should be just as considered as the rest of the interior.

Common mistakes to avoid

Well-meaning offices tend to stumble on the same things: too few bins or unclear labelling, sorting tucked away where nobody sees it, bins in the wrong size that either overflow or sit empty, and routines that never get followed up. We go into the most common pitfalls in a separate article, but the basic rule is simple: make it easy to do the right thing, and check in regularly.

Checklista: office waste sorting

• Waste audit completed – you know what you’re throwing away and how much
• Right number of fractions chosen based on legal requirements and your audit
• Requirements confirmed with your municipality and waste contractor
• Waste sorting placed where the waste is generated
• Central station supplemented with bins near workstations
• Clear, consistent signage throughout the premises
• Staff briefed and an environmental rep appointed
• Routine for emptying and follow-up in place
• System can be expanded as your needs grow