Have you taken a little time out lately to assess the environmental disaster that is the modern office breakroom? Few other locations manage to waste so much in terms of natural resources and create so much garbage at the same time.
Every day, employees bring in their disposable plastic bottles and plastic-wrapped food, and drink coffee and water out of Styrofoam cups, all of which get dumped into the trash after use.
Handy for cleanup, certainly, but in the long run, all of that garbage will end up in a landfill somewhere, or in the ocean, or in a growing mountain of trash.
Multiply that wastage by the millions of offices in the country, and even more around the world, and you've got the makings of a looming waste crisis.
Indeed, the United States alone throws away 250 million tons of municipal waste in total every year.
One wouldn't be exaggerating to say that a good percentage of that comes from all of those breakroom waste bins.
Action must be taken now to reverse this downward spiral, and that means changing bad breakroom habits into better ones - habits that conserve resources and energy.
Since disposable drink containers are a big part of the problem, the first thing employees can do is bring their own reusable mugs or beverage bottles, filling them with the water, coffee or whatever else they like to drink, without creating any waste.
The tiny amount of dirty water created from washing these reusable containers every so often is nothing compared to the amount of plastic that doesn't have to be thrown.
If the drink that the employee wants is only available in disposable form, several recycling bins, for various materials, should be located in the breakroom so that if waste has to be created, at least it can be disposed of properly.
In this manner, the trash gets taken to a processing center, where it can be returned to product circulation as recycled goods.
There is nothing difficult about recycling waste or taking your own mug to work, but the problem lies with getting the message across in a way that doesn't club the employee over the head with the habit.
Well, the easiest way to accomplish is that is with a green breakroom sign.
Research shows that people are more open to subtle suggestion, and pick up habits more quickly that way.
There are a few environment-saving breakroom signs out there that are very well-made, colourful and professional, and contain eco-tips that are easy to read.
Sometimes these signs are accompanied by bright, whimsical images that attract the eyes of the viewers, and entice them to pay attention for the few seconds that it takes for the message to sink in.
Multiply the initiative that can be taken by employees with a few breakroom signs as guidance by the millions of workplaces out there, and you begin to appreciate the immense good that these signs can do.
Picking out a few for your own breakroom may just be the most cost-effective and benevolent office purchase you will ever make.