Is there office paper in your dumpster?

Now would be a good time to check with your building manager and to take a look in your own waste basket under the desk, says the City and County of Honolulu Department of Environmental Services. Paper recycling is mandatory for all commercial office buildings in Honolulu that have 20,000 square feet or more of office space.

More than 150 office buildings on Oahu are mandated by law to provide for the separate collection and recycling of office paper, newspaper and corrugated cardboard and to make sure none is disposed mixed with trash in the dumpster.

The City mails out compliance forms annually, and follows up with onsite inspections. Office paper recycling compliance forms were sent to Oahu commercial office buildings in August 2010. Inspections for compliance by city recycling specialists began in November in the regulated office buildings.

Knowledgeable inspectors will address questions and concerns and offer guidance and professional help during the inspections and provide tips on reinvigorating, re-establishing or starting a commercial recycling program.

For information regarding commercial paper recycling, go to http://opala.org and click on “Business Recycling” and watch “Office Recycling,” which profiles the citiy’s program.