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As a cleaning manager, you’re always concerned with saving money. If you’re office is environmentally conscious, saving natural resources is also on your to-do list. Add that, constant efforts to keep office occupants happy and healthy and your plate is pretty full.

One simple way to tackle all three is implementing a Bring Your Own Reusable Bottle (BYORB) initiative, according to an article on the Work Design website.

Rather than buying (and tossing) plastic cups in your kitchen, you can reduce your plastic waste by encouraging employees to take their favorite reusable water bottle to work with them.

Steps to a successful (BYORB) initiative include:

 • Create a team to champion the effort. Try to involve a few people from each department.
 
 • Don’t go cold turkey. After launching your BYORB program, try leaving only a small stack of plastic cups in plain sight. Many people won’t go looking when the stack disappears. This will help to incentivize them to bring in their bottles.

If the BYORB initiative gets pushback, make the transition from plastic cups as gradual as possible.

 • Give everyone a bottle. If you’ve got the budget, purchase a personalized or company-logo’d reusable bottle for each employee. Once your custom bottles arrive,  encourage people to leave them at work.

 • Reinforce positive behavior. Give shoutouts to employees that have come on board.

A BYORB program is just one way to reduce kitchen waste in the workplace. Take a lesson from the schools in Stamford, Texas.

CleanLink reported that food-sharing tables, composting and garbage container inserts for liquids are some of the strategies to reduce pounds of waste and recycling produced each year in its schools.

For instance, 25 garbage container inserts have been ordered for cafeterias in schools and the government center. Leftover liquids can be poured into the liners that are then emptied down the drain. Considering the weight of liquids, the inserts can reduce waste by up to 10 percent.

The city is also considering investing in compost containers for schools.