I hate waste as well! Is there anyway to have a box (kind of like another poster was saying) where the lady in your office could put stuff so that others could go through it to see if they could use those items? Then, it's no longer making a mess because it is in a specific location (she is happy) and it is up for grabs and not in the trash (you're happy). Anyway, that's the only thing I can think of.
My sister had a roommate for awhile who wasted stuff and she was going crazy. She would try to gently talk about not wasting stuff and putting things in recycle...it semi worked. She still had to pick stuff out of the trash and put them in recycle on a regular basis.
