| South London based
environmental organisation, BioRegional1, is launching ‘The
Laundry’ a unique office paper and cardboard collection scheme
for small businesses initially in Soho, but will expand to cover
all of central London over 2 years. Offices send their dirty emails
and screwed up paper off for a detox by putting out their waste
paper on the kerb (just like trade waste) where it is collected
and taken to the local mill to get cleaned up and then sold back
to the offices as 100% recycled bright white detoxed paper. The
scheme is EASY and will SAVE OFFICES MONEY.
The scheme will be launched with
an informal party at the Blink Gallery in Soho on Thursday 24th
July, 5.30pm onwards.
The Laundry is funded by Shanks
First Fund2, WWF-International, WWF-UK, The JJ Charitable Trust,
The Mark Leonard Trust and The Corporation of London.
The scheme is aimed at small businesses
in the city because they rarely recycle their paper, as they don’t
have space to store it. A study carried out by Westminster Council
showed that 44% of trade waste in the area is made up of top quality
office paper.
Leaving paper out on the kerb
just like standard trade waste makes recycling accessible. The scheme
will start off in Soho but will expand over the next 2 years to
cover all of central London. The offices buy sacks from The Laundry
at 55p per sack (normal trade waste sacks cost as much as £1
so that’s a saving of 45p per sack) and when they are full
(office paper, envelopes, post-its (anything apart from newspaper
and magazines please) place the sack on the pavement at a designated
time. Cardboard should be taped up and collected at the same time.
Laundry staff will come by in their eye catching truck and white
coats and pick it up with a smile and a cheeky wink.
The paper collected is recycled
into new paper (bright white and guaranteed for uses in office machinery
- recycled paper has come a long way baby) you can buy it from us
or other suppliers – helping you get your own back in the
office…
If you need ideas on reducing
paper use or some mean origami patterns – The Laundry can
do that too. Please contact Ben Maxwell at bm@bioregional.com
or 020 8404 6330.
In the longer term The Laundry
will evaluate costs and logistics and make recommendations to policy
makers for the scheme to be taken up across London and in other
cities.
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