10 Ways Small Businesses Can Reduce Plastics

In honor of World Oceans Day - June 8, in case you weren’t aware - this week’s post is about reducing plastics at work. As I’m sure you’ve heard, there is a serious plastics pollution problem globally. According to the Ocean Conservancy, 8 million metric tons of plastics enter our oceans annually. That is in addition to the estimated 150 million metric tons that are currently circulating in our waterways.

Plastics are everywhere – not only in the oceans, on our streets but also in our bodies, and each of us can take steps to address this issue. Many large corporations are starting to take action – mainly at the behest of their investors and customers – but the verdict is still out whether they are serious about it or not.

Since small businesses make up the majority of employers in most countries, it is a great opportunity to step up and lead. If you work or own a small business, whether that is brick and mortar or virtual, there are many things you can do to contribute to the solution.  Below are 10 ideas; no matter what business you work in, you and your colleagues are likely is coming into contact with these types of plastics, either at work or at home.

1. Get rid of any and all plastic bags.

Some cities in the US have bans on single use plastic bags - Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and New York – while other cities, including Washington DC, charge fees for plastic bags. In addition, some countries have taken the lead in banning plastics altogether – a few countries in Africa have led the way, and the latest as of this writing was Canada, which is looking to ban single use plastics as early as 2021. Don’t wait until you’re forced to do it, go ahead and get ahead of the game. If you’re a retail store, you can offer reusable bags, a discount for customers bringing their own bags, provide cardboard boxes that would otherwise get recycled, or do something creative as an alternative.  

2. Replace K-cups with an old-fashioned coffee machine.

K-cups are convenient, I get it. However, according to the Story of Stuff, the number of K-cups in landfill could wrap around the planet 10 times. That’s not a pretty visual, not to mention that right now, they are not even recyclable. Even though Keurig Green Mountain’s president has said they would make the K-cups from #5 polypropylene plastic by 2020 so they can theoretically be recycled, only about a third of recycling programs in the US accept this kind of plastic, not to mention that people actually need to recycle them. So, cut them out.

3. Opt out of plastic straws – use paper, metal or silicone, or just skip them altogether.

Over 500 MILLION plastic straws are used each day in the United States, according to the Plastic Pollution Coalition. In case you are wondering what that means in terms of the Earth’s circumference, that’s enough straws to wrap around the Earth 2.5 times per DAY. So, skip the straws – and if you want to take more steps and encourage your local partners, suppliers, vendors, etc… to also take action, check out the Last Plastic Straw.

4. Encourage staff to bring in homemade lunches.

Ready-made meals come in a lot of plastic packaging. This is the case with the frozen food from your grocery store as well as meal kits, which have grown in popularity (though meal kits apparently aren’t as wasteful as originally thought if you take into account packaging and food waste).  Providing access to a microwave and refrigerator at the very least will encourage your colleagues to bring in homemade food more often. You may also want to have fresh fruits available as a perk if that is within your organization’s budget, to encourage healthier eating.

5. Provide reusable take-out containers to use when going out to lunch.

According to the NRDC, single-use food and beverage packaging is one of the largest sources of the 270,000+ tons of plastic pollution in the oceans. One option to address this at work is to encourage your colleagues to take reusable containers with them when they go out to lunch. To make this easier, if you have the capacity, you could have some reusable take-out containers in the kitchen for them to grab before they go. This, of course, would take some getting used to, as with any behavior change, but it will avoid adding more trash to the landfill.

6. Replace plastic water bottles with a cooler or filter and get rid of the vending machines.

According to the Earth Day Network, Americans purchase about 50 billion water bottles per year, averaging about 13 bottles per month for every person in the U.S. So instead of offering plastic bottles, offer filtered water. Vending machines also make it easier to access those plastic bottles, so get rid of those and think about creative ways to offer drinks to your colleagues and staff. The bonus – most of the drinks in those plastic bottles aren’t healthy anyway, so this will help everyone get healthier!

7. Offer reusable utensils and plates instead of plastic or paper alternatives.

Reusable plates and utensils are cheaper in the long-run, though of course that means that you need to have access to a dishwasher. That being said, the logistics of coordinating turning on the dishwasher at night, and emptying it in the morning are small compared to the amount of trash generated.   Unfortunately, there really is no such thing as a sustainable disposable product, so while it may be nice to have bamboo plates available for guests and visitors, reusable dishware is still the greenest alternative.

8. Select products from suppliers and manufactures that use minimal packaging. 

Buy in bulk wherever possible, in concentrated amounts if available (think cleaning agents), and overall minimize packaging. Ask your suppliers about plastic-free or reduced plastic options for items that you purchase in high quantities and that may be specific to your industry. You may think that you’re too small of an organization to make a difference, but if enough small businesses start asking about alternatives, your suppliers will start thinking about ways to meet those requests. 

9. Buy reusable pens.

This seems like a small part of a bigger issue – and it is. That being said, according to the EPA, Americans throw away 1.6 Billion disposable pens every year. Pens are ubiquitous in more organizations and homes, and we don’t give them much thought, but they have a short lifespan then get tossed – and sometimes they get tossed even if they’re still working. So, consider providing higher-end pens that can be refilled, and/or discouraging the ordering of pens until the ones that are available are used, especially if you are in a business that uses pens more than computers. And, instead of throwing them in the trash, consider getting Terracycle’s Zero Waste Box if it’s within your organization’s budget.

10. Use refillable containers for soap and other toiletries.

Whether you work or run a café, office-based business or hotel, you likely have soap and other toiletries available in the bathrooms. These often come in plastic containers, which may or may not be reused. One option is to replace them with refillable containers – but do make sure the container isn’t made up of non-recyclable plastic – or preferably, is not plastic period.

Like any other aspect of going green and environmental sustainability, reducing plastic use and waste at your organization is a journey. Educating yourself and your colleagues is key to ensuring that this is successful in the long term. Getting everyone involved, asking them to take a pledge, such as the Clean Seas pledge, and making it fun with go a long way to changing behaviors.

If you feel like your organization is close to zero waste (i.e. less than 10% of your waste goes to landfill), you may also want to apply for the TRUE zero waste certification from the US Green Building Council.

If you are thinking about 'going green', be sure to download our free sustainability checklist, which can enable you to get a snapshot of what your organization is already doing and provide additional actions you can take.