RoadRunner Blog The Facts: Office Workers & Their Waste Generation

The concept of working a 9-to-5 office job often evokes memories of spending more waking hours at your place of business than in your own home. Inevitably, in being more active at work, the average American office worker generated a substantial amount of waste — from 10,000 sheets of office paper to 500 “disposable” coffee cups. When the COVID-19 pandemic sent many workers home, all of our wasteful behaviors followed us to the kitchen, couch and bedroom. But now, as the economy reopened and companies like Google and Goldman Sachs acted as bellwethers leading the nation back to their second homes, the time arrived to reset how offices think about waste and recycling. With sustainability, efficiency and employee well-being top of mind, we discuss five materials responsible for the disproportionate waste generation in the office setting, as well as ongoing considerations for a zero waste future. Let's dive deeper into just how much waste is created in the office.