Reduce,
Reuse, Recycle: Paper
Paper
use is expected to double by 2020*.
The average consumer uses over 700 pounds of paper products
every year, which is 10 times more than a century ago, and
almost twice the per capita consumption since the 1970s.**
There are a number of things we can do to reduce our consumption
of paper. A few ideas are on this list, which will be updated
often. Click here
to send your tips!
Reduce
-
Only print what's necessary.
- Make
the point size smaller in your documents to reduce the number
of printouts.
- Send
people PDFs instead of printouts.
- Eliminate
fax cover sheets by using self-adhesive fax notes.
- Order
supplies by phone, email or online.
- Purchase
office supplies with the highest Postconsumer content as
possible (to learn more, click here.)
- Don't
overprint: find out how many people need to receive what
you are sending out.
- Before
designing a project, get estimates from printers first.
Often times, during the negotiations for cost reduction,
printers will suggest a different trim size. For example,
printing an 8.5" x 11" brochure will cost more
than 8.5" x 10 7/8". It's only a 1/8" difference
on the height, but depending on the quantity of your brochures,
the savings could be in the thousands of dollars, and much
less paper waste.
- Spec
the paper weight that is suffecient to perform the job.
This saves you on postage too.
- Ask
your designer to spec recycled paper or even tree-free paper
(lots of beautiful options, i.e. cotton, kenaf, bamboo,
bagasse, etc.).
- Tired
of junk mail? Go to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA)
or www.stopwaste.org's
brochure to find out more.
Reuse
-
Use the other side of printed sheets when documents are
not in the final stages, like proofing text or emails for
example. (Have a stack ready to load your printer.)
- Cut
scraps of paper and use them as notes.
- Save
cardboard boxes for a future shipping.
- Avoid
paper products as much as possible: use cloth towels instead
of paper towel, use a ceramic mug instead of paper cup.
- Reuse
file folders.
- Donate
your old books, trade and consumer magazines to your local
library.
Recycle
-
Recycling is simple: just have separate trash cans set up
for paper, bottles, and trash. On the day of trash collection,
it's a lot easier to bring them out.
- Recycling
pickup is free, therefore the more you sort out from trash,
the more you can save in refusal pickup fees.
- Buy
recycled too. It helps to solidify the market for post-consumer
products in the marketplace.
- Look
for new and unique opportunities to reduce, reuse or recycle
paper products.
- Display
the recycled symbol and PCW content on your printed materials.
**
The SimpleLife Guide to Tree-Free, Recycled and Certified
Papers (ISBN 0-9673788-0-X)
©
2006 Designarchy |
