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ENCOURAGE BETTER USE OF PAPER AND SUPPLIES AT THE OFFICE

by Deborah Mitchell
Paper Recycling

Careless use and disposal of office paper and office supplies is rapidly clogging landfills, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, depleting natural resources, contributing to air and water pollution, and wasting energy. The amount of copy paper alone used in the United States in one year consumes 15.8 million tons of wood, enough to build 1 million US homes.

Only about half of the more than 83 million tons of paper thrown away each year in the United States is recycled. Much of that wasted paper is generated by businesses. In fact, the average office worker uses 10,000 sheets of copy paper per year — that's one sheet every 12 minutes.

Approximately 90 percent of the writing and printing paper made in the United States is virgin paper (paper made from wood pulp and containing no recycled materials), according to the Recycled Paper Coalition. Recycled paper makes environmental and financial sense, because compared with virgin paper, it:

  • saves trees, water, energy, and landfill space
  • produces less air, water, and soil pollution
  • helps protect ecosystems
  • requires less bleaching during manufacturing, which reduces use and the need to dispose of toxic chemicals

In addition to copy and writing paper, businesses consume vast amounts of other office supplies, such as desk accessories, folders, fasteners, computers, binders, and packing materials. To save resources and money, employees who are responsible for office supply purchases need to ask themselves:

  • Is the purchase necessary, or can the item be leased, rented, or borrowed?
  • Are there used or unwanted supplies available elsewhere in the office or company that can be used instead?
  • If items must be bought, can used items or items that contain recycled/reclaimed materials be purchased?

You can significantly reduce the negative impact of virgin paper production on natural resources, increase office paper recycling, promote office supply and paper reuse, and support the use of recycled office products. How? Check out the easy-to-implement ideas below.

To encourage environmentally responsible use of paper and supplies at the office, the three "Rs" should be implemented: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Here's how:

  • Reduce overall office paper use, which not only saves resources but saves money as well. These ideas should become part of standard operating procedures for any office.

  • Use two-sided copying whenever possible
  • Send interoffice e-mails instead of paper memos
  • Centrally post memos that apply to all employees or specific departments rather than distribute individual copies.
  • Create scratch pads from used paper and distribute them to all employees
  • Reuse "half-used paper" (paper that has printing on one side) in your copy and/or fax machine for copies or faxes that are for internal use.
  • Use the reduction feature on your copy machine — you can get more items per page and reduce paper use.
  • Make it convenient to recycle paper: each staffed desk or cubicle should have a recycle basket, box, or other type or receptacle. Employees may be more likely to recycle if they are allowed to create their own unique recycling basket for their office space.
  • Help keep participation in office paper reuse, reduction, and recycling alive by sharing visual reminders and encouragement. Free promotional materials are available online.
  • Use recycled paper. Recycled paper contains different percentage of post-consumer waste (paper that has been recycled by consumers), while the remaining recycled content comes from paper mill scraps. Your best environmental choice is paper with a high percentage of post-consumer content, 30 percent or greater.  Conservatree offers information on how you can make environmentally sound paper product choices.
  • Some recycled paper costs slightly more than virgin paper, while some is the same or even cheaper. To help offset any possible additional cost, plan ahead. Buy in larger quantities, team up with other departments or even other businesses to get better prices.
  • Donate unneeded paper or outdated stationary to a nursery school, day care center, or similar places. These facilities often need and much appreciate such supplies. Encourage them to recycle the paper once they have used it.
  • Talk to management about offering incentives (monetary, time off, environmentally appropriate items such as ceramic mugs or canvas shopping bags, donation to a favorite charity) to employees who develop and institute steps to reduce office paper and office supply use. One idea is to base incentive values on a percentage of the money saved by the company.
  • When purchasing nonpaper office supplies, look for those that contain a high percentage of recovered/recycled materials. Stop Waste offers tips on how to buy green for the office. 
  • Encourage employees to reuse and recirculate unneeded or unused office supplies by creating a central "drop off" or return location in your office or company. For example, employees who have binders or desk lamps they no longer need or who have extra file folders or staplers can bring them to a collection location so the items can become available to other employees. Some businesses and universities, such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Portland State University, have successful reuse and redistribution programs for extra office supplies.

For more ideas on how to significantly reduce office paper use and create a greener office, see the many options provided at "Creating a Paper Reduction Campaign In Your Office," the guidelines offered by Environmental Defense and the "Twin Cities Green Guide."