Waste At Work

Since I'm getting in the green spirit I've started taking a look at the not so green choices I make at work. Honestly, because of where I'm living now it is a challenge to bring my own things to work to help reduce my waste. Certain things are provided by my job and are things that I would have a difficult time doing my job without. Here's a few lists. Next to the item I'm currently using I've listed what I should be using in bold.

* Disposable pens Reusable pen made of metal or wood with replaceable cartriges (they still use some but a lot less plastic)
* Print outs on white paper (I use a LOT of this, but we recycle!) Try to avoid printing out whenever possible by keeping the information on the screen
* Post-it notes (again, we recycle these) Write notes on the back of print outs before recycling them. That way I'm reusing and recycling!

     

Some are things I don't really need to use but haven't yet switched to greener alternatives.

     

* Tissues hanky or the hanky book! which I am thinking of making myself from old shirts!
* Paper cups (with plastic lining...double ouch) Bring my own water bottle and/or mug. I currently own a Klean Kanteen but it does have a plastic spout and I also have a plastic coffee mug that was given to me when I started my job. While the mug isn't ideal it would be better than paper cups. I should note that I do use the same cup for several days at a time.
* Disposable mechanical pencils Natural sustainable or recycled wood pencils with natural rubber erasers. I'd have to provide my own but they tend to last a while.
* Styrofoam plates (seriously, I try not using a plate at all if I can help it, I hate stryofoam!) Bring a reusable nonplastic plate
* Food in disposable containers (yogurt, frozen meals, frozen waffles, nuts, energy bars) Make my own food and bring it in reusable, nonplastic containers
* Plastic forks (I bring my own metal fork usually but sometimes I forget)
* Lip Balm in a plastic tube Lip balm in a metal container or better yet, home made lip balm
* Hand lotion in a plastic tube Make my own or buy in a tin

It seems like half of the stuff on my desk is made of plastic: my keyboard, phone, monitor, the stand I put my papers on, the stand that holds important papers, my stapler, tape dispenser, pen organizer, phone headset, highlighers, post-it despenser, calculator...the chair I'm sitting in!! How do we stand a chance in a world full of plastic and disposable stuff?!