Dispose Responsibly

The Postal Service is reminding employees to maintain healthy workplaces by disposing of trash, recyclable items, hazardous materials, and other refuse responsibly. The following items should NEVER be sent to the Mail Recovery Center (Atlanta, GA); the Material Distribution Center (Topeka, KS); MTESC locations, or the Ybor City, FL, Processing and Distribution Center:

• Trash
• Food
• Postal Service retail products/packaging (unopened or loose)
• Detergents and cleaning products
• Hazardous materials including batteries and fluorescent bulbs
• Used Tires
• Office equipment (chairs, desks, filing cabinets, etc.)
• Expired paper forms (PS Forms 3971, 2976, 2976A, 2976B, 3200, 4232, DS82, etc.)
• Retail products (including new and used ReadyPost/EPS)

Make sure you follow the correct policy for the type of item being disposed. The Postal Operations Manual outlines policies for how to handle undeliverable mail, while the Sustainability Blue page has information on how to handle hazardous materials. You can also visit eDispose, an application designed to provide employees with guidance and information related to disposing and reutilizing items.

For more information, refer to the Waste Stream Assessment and Characterization Environmental Compliance Bulletin.

Display of a Candidate’s Photograph in the Workplace

• Photographs of partisan political candidates are not permitted in the workplace during election season unless all of the following apply: the photograph was on display in advance of the election season; the employee is in the photograph with the candidate; and the photograph is a personal one (i.e., the employee has a personal relationship with the candidate and the photograph is taken at some kind of personal event or function). Of course, an employee must not have a political purpose for displaying the photograph, namely, promoting or opposing a political party or a candidate for partisan political office.

Photographs of partisan political candidates could offend some of our customers, and even cause conflict in the workplace. Keeping your political views to yourself is smart business.

Contact the Ethics Office (ethics.help@usps.gov) for more information about the Hatch Act.