Enough paper is wasted by U.S. businesses each year that we could construct a wall of paper 12 feet tall that would stretch all the way from the West Coast to the East Coast.
July 14, 2009
Office Paper Waste
Fortune 500 or hip "mom'n pop," If you're wasting your paper it's now time to stop. Conserve and recycle and go digital Your trash and your inbox will be so much less full.
If you work in an office, chances are printers and fax machines are a part of your feng shui, as well as overflowing trash bags or recycling bins full of used paper. Here are some things to consider when attempting to green your office and reduce your business's paper waste:
If you must print, make the most of the page by single spacing or widening your margins.
For editing spreadsheets, presentations and other documents, use the review functions of the programs to provide digital feedback directly on the screen - then email the documents back and forth, rather than printing them.
Share copies of documents for meetings or use programs like Powerpoint to project meeting documents onto a screen for paperless presentations.
For files too large to send virtually, use flash drives to share between computers.
If you must send a hard copy of a document to someone within a large company, interoffice it with a reusable string-tie envelope instead of sealing envelopes that can be used only once.
If your company is not already recycling paper, contact management and urge them to start! If you own or are employed by a small company without the resources, provide bins and do the recycling on your own!
