With millions of businesses in the UK operating out of small, medium and large offices all around the country, the amount of waste that they produce will be on a very high scale, but just how much of this can be recycled rather than just disposed of in normal waste management systems? Many businesses are still over looking the importance of recycling and making sure that they make the most of every type of waste, with some claiming they just do not understand what can and what can not be successfully recycled.

If every business undertook some kind of recycling then we could, as a country, dramatically push up our success levels when it comes to succeeding with the amount of waste that could be recycled and indeed is.

Below, we look at the main things that most offices will have in terms of waste and therefore which of these can be recycled.

Printer Cartridges - Nearly every office has a computer and nearly every office with a computer will usually have some kind of printer, else you would never be able to print any invoices or documents. Printers use cartridges which are quite often just discarded into the bin once used, but you can actually recycle printer cartridges and help the environment at the same time. There are a couple of big appeals at the moment that will accept your cartridges, although many do prefer original makes rather than refills, so its important to check with them before you send them in.

Computers / Electrical Equipment - Due to the evolvement of technology, computers and electrical equipment are now becoming a massive headache when it comes to waste disposal, as they account for a large part of the total waste production in the current world. Computers can very easily be recycled to local charities, schools or families, by simply having the computer fully cleaned by a profession and then passing it on. If you are worried about data, you can simply put a brand new hard drive in and give the PC away or you can just remove the old hard drive and let the new owners deal with getting a hard drive.

Mobile Phones - If your business regularly renews mobile phones for the company, you can often be left with unused mobiles that you really could do with getting rid of. Many charities and organisations will collect your old mobile phones or send you a prepaid envelope so that they can reuse and supply these mobile phones either to raise money or to give to people in other countries.

Paper - Every office in this country will use paper at one stage or another during their working day, either for writing on or printing on, so it's vital that every office recycles its waste paper. Paper is one of the easiest forms of recycling when it comes to actually getting it to a recycling centre, with many local types of council offering a paper recycling collection and many local recycling centres offering somewhere to take this paper as well.

Cardboard - As with paper, most businesses will at some stage have cardboard to get rid of, either from their own products or from parts or supplies that have been sent in to be used. Again, as with paper, cardboard is really easy to recycle with many collection points scattered around the UK and many of the large refuse companies also offer a recycling service for cardboard to be picked up from the office premises or an arranged collection point.

Paints Or Oils - If your business regularly uses paints or oils, it is easy to end up with a load of unwanted bits and pieces and quite often these are just disposed of in the normal means. Most recycling centres around the UK specifically have areas and designated space for oils, paints and other types of chemicals, so make sure you store them correctly and take them to a point where they will accept these materials.