Five ways to make your home office eco-friendly

The beginning of 2021 has seen a widespread return to the office in Australia. Many of us, however, are enjoying the advantages of increased flexibility and continuing to work from the home office part-time.

If you regularly work from home, you’ve probably spent time and effort setting up your home office. Perhaps buying a new printer, monitor or ring light to look great on those Zoom calls! This might also mean you are now creating new types of waste that you want to recycle but know can't go in the kerbside recycling bin.

Here are five easy ways to recycle your office items close to home and for free!

1. Tackle that drawer full of cables

We all have a drawer or box full of cables or chargers that we’ve long forgotten. Either technology upgrades have made them redundant or we forgot what they were originally used for years ago! Help is at hand with Officeworks’ new in-store recycling stations that accept all home office e-waste including cables, chargers, mice, DVDs and CDs. For other drop-off options, visit RecyclingNearYou.

2. How many old mobiles do you have?

MobileMuster estimates there are a whopping 5 million broken or no-longer-working mobiles in drawers and cupboards across Australia. It’s easier than you might think to wipe your data and drop them off for recycling at a local collection point. You can also order a mailing satchel and send them back for free by post. Of course, if a phone you no longer use is still working, try to pass it on to someone who will use it first.

3. Printer cartridge recycling by post

Cartridges 4 Planet Ark offers over 3,500 drop-off locations for your used printer cartridges to be recycled. However, one of our retail collection partners, Cartridges Direct, is offering a free post-back service when you order cartridges online.

4. Keep batteries out of the bin

Batteries should be kept out of recycling and waste bins because they are hazardous items that could potentially cause a fire. Recycling them at your local collection point (including Officeworks and ALDI stores) means the valuable materials inside will be used again to make new products.

5. Laptops, computers and tablets

The National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme has been running for a number of years and offers free recycling of all TVs, computers and accessories with councils offering collection days and retailers providing drop-off locations. Check what’s accepted and how to delete your data securely before dropping off.

Of course, there are many other items that can’t be recycled in your kerbside recycling bin that can be dropped off for free at recycling points, such as soft plastics, paints, pens and household chemicals. Visit RecyclingNearYou to find a nearby collection point for these and many other materials.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Sergey