No trash cans for Google employees

MELISSA HINCHA-OWNBY
Miami Herald
Jun 8, 2009

Recently, Google has made several eco-conscious changes at its London office. One of the more creative changes Google implemented is the removal of trash cans from individual employee desks. Instead of simply tossing away garbage without a second thought, employees now have to get up and walk to a centralized disposal and recycling station. This small change has led to an increase in onsite recycling - if the employee is already walking to the disposal center, it is easy to make the decision to recycle the waste.

After an after-hours check of employee computers, Google implemented an educational program to help employees understand the energy benefits of powering down their computers at night. This is a low-cost way to save Google money and reduce the company's carbon footprint.

Google's removal of employee trash cans is an ingenious idea. It costs nothing for a business to remove the item and direct employees to a centralized disposal/recycling location. This one little step led to a significant increase in recycling rates at the company, 50 percent, and helps Google meet its green initiative goals (www.google.com/intl/en/corporate/green/).

Business guru Melissa Hincha-Ownby blogs about the latest in green biz. Read more on her green business blog: www.mnn.com/featured-blogs/greenbusiness.