Office Cleanup Resources

Preparing to clean up or move your office space? Here are some tips to help you declutter and refresh your space more sustainably by following the reduce, reuse, recycle framework:

1. Reduce office clutter
2. Reuse or donate unwanted items in good condition
3. Recycle items that cannot be reused
4. Properly dispose items that cannot be reused or recycled

1. REDUCE OFFICE CLUTTER

✅ Remove unneeded physical files — Digitizing documents can help you get rid of physical files that take up too much space. Once digitized, you can recycle old paper documents in mixed recycling (blue) bins or place confidential documents in shredding paper collection (gray) bins. Please consult and follow Sheridan’s policies on records management and privacy, available on Access Sheridan or in Sheridan’s Policy Viewer, and visit the Department of Records and Information Management (RIM) website for details. 

✅ Stop printing where possible — Consider taking the digitization of documents one step further by not printing anything that can be feasibly read on your computer or device.

✅ Default to double-sided printing — When physical copies are necessary, ensure that you enable double-sided printing wherever possible to reduce the amount of paper needed.

✅ Re-evaluate the usefulness of your workplace items — Sort through all your workplace items and ensure everything there has a purpose and is actually useful to you. If you have any items that sit there never getting used, consider the tips below on how to donate them for others to reuse.

2. REUSE OR DONATE UNWANTED ITEMS IN GOOD CONDITION

✅ Donate acceptable items for reuse by the Sheridan community — The Office for Sustainability’s Mission Zero Freeuse Pop Up Shop is accepting donations! Sheridan students, faculty, and staff can donate new or gently used items that are CLEAN and in good/working condition from the list of acceptable items below, which will be collected, sorted, and offered back to the Sheridan community for reuse (free of charge!) during periodic Mission Zero Freeuse Pop Up Shop events. Have items you’d like to donate? Place items in labeled red bins located behind library desks at each campus (Davis, HMC, and Trafalgar). At Trafalgar, you can also pick up a labeled red bin from the mailroom (room A134) between 10:30am-2:30pm Monday-Thursday, take the bin to your workspace and place your donations inside, and then email missionzero@sheridancollege.ca to arrange for pickup!

1. 1. 1. Office/school supplies (e.g., notebooks, pens, folders, rubber bands, etc.)
      2. Crafting supplies
      3. Novels
      4. School bags/cloth tote bags
      5. Ceramics & small home décor items
      6. Kitchenware & small appliances
      7. Games/sporting goods, and 
      8. Clothing/footwear/accessories.

✅ Consider donating other items to local charities — If you have items that cannot be accepted for reuse as part of the Mission Zero Freeuse Pop Up Shop initiative, please consider donating to other local charities.

✅ Choose to Reuse! If you are in need of new supplies, visit one of the upcoming Mission Zero Freeuse Pop Up Shop events and see if you can find what you’re looking for! Visit REUSE at Sheridan | Mission Zero (sheridancollege.ca) for upcoming pop up shop event dates.

3. RECYCLE ITEMS THAT CANNOT BE REUSED

✅ Mixed recycling (blue) bins — acceptable items include ① Used paper products, ② Cartons, ③ Cardboard (flatten them), ④ Plastic bottles/containers and cup lids, ⑤ Metal or glass materials. PRO TIP! To recycle bound notebooks, separate the binding coil from notebooks → place removed coil in landfill (black) bin and the paper in the mixed recycling (blue) bin.

✅ Organics (green) bins – acceptable items include ① Food waste, ② Paper napkins, and ③ Paper plates and paper straws. PRO TIP! Do not place coffee cups or plastic food packaging in green bins. The Organics waste collected in the green bins is being delivered to a composting facility in Ontario where the material is processed and turned into compost as fertilizers. 

✅ Special waste recycling (All Campus Locations) – see below for a list of other items that have special waste disposal options available at Sheridan’s campuses, including ① Used batteries – RMC collection bin is located in the Learning Commons, ② E-waste (i.e., old, broken, or unusable electronics of low value like keyboards, mouses, cables, adapters, small desktop printers, headsets, etc.) – recycling collection available at Shipping and Receiving, ③ Writing instruments (i.e., pens, markers, pencils) – collection bin located in Learning Commons, ④ Confidential documents – shredding paper collection grey bins are located in various locations across campus.

4. PROPERLY DISPOSE OF ITEMS THAT CAN NOT BE REUSED OR RECYCLED

✅ Hazardous waste disposal — Hazardous waste items are picked up quarterly. For any questions, please contact the Health and Safety Department.

✅ Landfill (black) bins — the following items are not recyclable and should be placed in the landfill (black) bins located across each campus:  ① Not recyclable used stationary (e.g. erasers, broken rubber bands); ② Single Use Plastics (e.g. cutlery, wrappers, bags, packaging); ③ Other items (e.g. styrofoam, canvas boards).

Additional resources/graphics to help you sort waste correctly – You are welcome to download the following waste sorting guidelines by clicking the links below:

• Office Clean-up Checklist
• Office Move Waste Sorting Graphic
• Sheridan Zero Waste Sort it Out Graphic
• The Mission Zero Freeuse Pop Up Shop Poster

CONTACT INFORMATION

If you have any questions about sorting your office waste, please email the Office for Sustainability at MissionZero@SheridanCollege.ca and a member of our team will follow up to support you. 

If you need to request waste bins for bulk quantity items, please contact Facilities and Sustainable Infrastructure Customer Service:

• Email: facilities@sheridancollege.ca
• Internal extension: 2255
• External direct line: 905-815-2255