Go Green In Your Office Recycling And Buying Recycled Office Supplies Makes A Difference

It's great to see people taking more interest in caring for our environment. Believe it or not, office supplies and the office products you use can make a real difference in helping our planet. Everyone knows that reducing paper usage saves trees, and that businesses use a ton of paper products like copy paper, paper towels, and envelopes. Buying recycled office paper is a great start to doing your part for the environment, but there are many other ways to "go green" in your office.

Before we even talk about buying recycled office supplies, first let's talk about recycling in your office. If you are not already recycling in your business, start today. It's easy, most employees want to participate as they already recycle at home, it helps save trees, and it keeps paper, glass, and plastics out of our landfills.

The first thing to do is buy recycled bins to place in break rooms, copy rooms or by copy machines and desks. Recycled trash cans like the Rubbermaid RCP295573BE typically sell for under $9.00, and have the recycled seal so all know that only recycled materials go here. For larger needs in break rooms, try Rubbermaid Brute recycled containers - #RCP263273BE, and for convenient retrieval of cans, bottles and plastics, get the Ex-Cell 3 Compartment Recycling Container, (EXCRC15283RBL) which has convenient compartments for each item type.

The second thing to do is make sure your office is recycling all the ink and toner cartridges you are using. With literally millions of cartridges being used every year, we are flooding our landfills with used inj jet and laser cartridges. The plastics they are made of have half-lives of hundreds of years, so they aren't going away. Some environmentally conscious office supply dealers have recycling programs where they provide boxes to throw your used up ink cartridges, and then ship the boxes free to recycling centers to be reused or recycled.

Once your business is truly recycling, it's time to start buying recycled products. The best place to start is by changing to recycled copy paper, which is by far the highest volume paper product used in offices. Yes, it costs a little more, but not that much more. Remember, people need to buy products made from recycled materials in order to use up all that paper being recycled, and copy paper does the most good.

I recommend Navigator premium recycled paper which has a high brightness, and is great quality. Some online office supplies stores feature this paper with very competitive pricing, and it contains 75% recycled material. Another great recycled paper brand is Great White paper by Hammermill. Their Great White 50 paper contains 50% recycled material.

Next, go to your break room and switch out your paper items to recycled products. Let's face it, businesses typically do not buy the softest most luxurious paper products for the office, so going to recycled will not even be noticed quality wise. Recycled paper towels and paper napkins are a "no brainer", and Marcal has a great line that's reasonably priced.

Quality recycled paper plates are available from Chinet that are made from 100% recycled material and are compostable. SOLO cups has a new line called Bare PLA that are made from 92% renewable materials, and available in a variety of sizes. All these brands and items can be found shopping at a quality online office products store, and while typically a little more money than items that are not recycled, they are well worth the environmental impact in the long run.

The truth is more people buying recycled products will cause prices to go down, which is good for our planet and good for you. Let's all do good work together by actively protecting our environment, first by recycling in the office place, and second, by purchasing recycled paper products that are used in bulk in your business. It's a part of practicing a conscious capitalism business model, which over time will bring significant positive social change to our world.

Purchase Second Hand Containers to Save Money

The use of containers is quite common in all industries no matter what are the products that they are producing. The containers are required for storage and safety of the products and raw materials and they are often used for shipping the ready products to the client location. The size of the containers can be different and it also depends on the requirement of the company. If you are setting up a new plant or want to replace some damaged containers and also need to minimize your cost on them, then buying second hand containers is the best option.

The price of first hand containers is often quite high and if you need to purchase many of them then it can dismantle your budget. Today most of the companies are emphasizing on cost cutting because the impact of recession taught them that saving now is the best way to survive later. In such a scenario it would not be a great idea to purchase new containers which are very costly.

There is no need to presume that the second hand containers available in the market are already damaged and they are not going to do any good. The second hand options are available in good amount because of the shutdown of industries during recession. So it is possible to find containers that are not much old. Some companies sell their old containers just because they need a larger one that they are using currently. So the presumption of damaged containers is not correct.

While buying a container you find need to check for the sizes available. If you need containers because your business is expanding then you can take bigger containers because you may need them within a short period of time. Taking a small one may be wastage of money. At the same time you need to consider the space available in your factory and if you are going to ship it, then choose the proper size and variety. The investment is not negligible and thus making a proper choice is very important. Prior evaluation and decision is always going to help.

It is always better to check the container before paying for it. It may not be sometime possible to check it thoroughly before purchasing. To avoid any complication after purchase it is better to purchase it from a dealer that has good experience in dealing with second hand containers.

A good dealer has good access to the second hand containers, which may not be accessed individually. You will be able to choose from a wide range of containers sold by the dealer in the best price. As the dealer purchases the containers from the seller, the quality check is done properly. Any damage is noted and rectified if possible. So you get the assurance of quality and damage free delivery.

If you are looking for a specific colour of containers for a specific shipping line or to match your containers then you can ask the dealer to colour it accordingly. It is a great cost saving decision to buy second hand containers if you can choose the deal smartly.

GPS Systems Proving to Be Sound Solutions to Managing Time and Costs in the Municipal Industry

GPS systems for the municipal industry are proving to be sound solutions to managing costs and time.

It is no longer just the little people looking to save money these days. Big business and local government are feeling a pinch in their bank account and they are not too happy about it.

In an economy where prices continue to rise, businesses within the municipal industry are looking for ways to save on costs. Then again, who isn't.

Residents across the U.S. were forced to reduce their water usage during the drought, causing the water department began to lose money. When consumers complied, the water company decided raising their prices would offset things. Wrong.

The only way for the water company to begin recouping their losses, was to find alternative ways to reduce overhead expenses.

GPS systems became the solution for many.

Municipal Uses for GPS

Businesses within the municipal industry have found fleet tracking systems are beneficial to reducing overhead, while increasing employee productivity.

Municipal uses for GPS include:

• Mapping Vehicle Locations
• Dispatching Vehicles
• Managing Incidents of Speeding
• Reducing Engine Idling
• Establishing Employee Habits

GPS Features Beneficial for Municipal Use

There are over 25 detailed reports available for use with your GPS vehicle tracking and monitoring solution. The most widely used reports and alerts available are:

• Detailed Report
• Simple Report
• Speed Report
• Timesheet Report
• Start/Stop/Idle Report
• Geofence Report
• Moving Report

Each of these reports provides data that is beneficial to improving the day to day operations of almost any municipal business.

Benefits to Using GPS Systems in Municipal Businesses

There are a number of benefits to using GPS systems in municipal businesses.

• Having access to vehicle location makes dispatching vehicles to various locations more effective.
• Monitoring speed promotes safety, while tracking engine idling will improve gas mileage, reducing engine wear and tear.
• Overhead costs are reduced by improving fuel consumption and reducing vehicle maintenance and insurance.
• Driver habits are established presenting ways to improve employee productivity.

Did you realize that using a fleet tracking system would help your business make more money? Time card abuse is decreased with driver monitoring.

Not only that, but more jobs can be dispatched daily using GPS fleet tracking. Companies implementing fleet management systems have seen an increase in business of over 20%. It all adds up!

Businesses like the department of transportation, waste management, gas, water, and power can greatly reduce operational costs associated with fleet management by implementing the use of a GPS vehicle tracking and location solution.

When it comes down to municipal uses, GPS is one of the best fleet tracking systems to use for: reducing engine idling, establishing employee habits, reducing incidents of speeding and to improve gas mileage.