Smart Paper Use

by Caryn Tolpa
Staples.com Editor

Other recycling articles:

Have you ever wondered how much paper you and your co–workers use in one year? You may be surprised by the amount. The average office worker uses approximately 10,000 sheets of copy paper annually.¹ The costs associated with all of this paper — the buying, storing, using, and disposing — add up over time. The environmental costs are high, too, when you consider that the typical employee discards about two and a half pounds of recyclable paper each work week.²

While paper is a necessity in most offices, there are ways to cut back on your paper consumption and use recycled paper products. The following tips will help you make wise paper choices. In the process, you'll save time, money, and natural resources.

Change the way you format
One of the easiest ways to use less paper is to make a few simple alterations to your formatting habits. Use the smallest legible font size — try 9 point — when creating and designing documents, and avoid large headlines and wide margins whenever possible. If you can, single space your documents. Title and cover pages often aren't necessary. If sending a paper fax, affixing a fax label to the first page of the document can save a cover page — these extra sheets add up over time.

Change the way you print and copy
When you approach your copier or set up a print job on your computer, keep reduction in mind. Copy on both sides of the paper, program your copy machine to turn single–sided originals into double–sided copies. It's an effortless way (the copier does all the work, after all) to cut your paper use in half when copying. Don't print everything out — get used to reading your email on your computer screen and bookmark any interesting Web sites rather than hitting the print button. Instead of marking up a hard copy with your pen, use your word processing software's tracking feature to edit documents. Then you can share your changes electronically rather than making hard copies.

Find paperless ways to communicate
Using email or voicemail to communicate with your co–workers and clients can save valuable resources and is often faster than traditional paper methods of correspondence. Instead of distributing paper copies of a memo, send it around via email. Writing a letter? Think about whether the information can be conveyed just as well with a phone call or email. Both of these alternatives will usually allow your recipients to receive your message more quickly, meaning that you may get a response right away. Also, try out the various paperless faxing programs that are now available — you can send and receive faxes from your computer without ever touching a piece of paper.

If you have documents that your employees need to share, set up a corporate Intranet, or internal Web site, that allows them to access the documents electronically and simultaneously. For example, your company's operating policies can be posted on an Intranet rather than printed out and distributed. This solution will save time as well as paper — when a policy needs to be updated, simply make the change to the electronic version and send everyone an email notification. Think of all the printing, copying, and paper clutter you'll avoid.

Recycle...when it's time
Making errors while printing or copying is bound to happen, but you don't have to let those "mistakes" go to waste. Instead of automatically discarding the cast–off paper, save it for scrap paper or use the reverse side for printing draft copies. Once you've used the paper to it's fullest, make sure that it ends up in your recycling bin. Almost all types of office paper are recyclable — and every office should do its part to help preserve valuable resources and decrease pollution. For tips on setting up a recycling program for your office, click here.

Use recycled paper—and be proud!
You recycle your office paper, so why not close the circle and buy only recycled paper? According to the National Office Paper Recycling Project, "If you collect recyclable paper, but do not purchase recycled products, you discourage manufacturers of recycled products and contribute to the flooding of the waste paper market and discourage office paper recycling in the long run."

Buy paper with as high a post–consumer recycled content as possible. Post–consumer content refers to materials such as office paper "that have served their useful lives and would otherwise end up in a landfill or incinerator."³ A minimum of 10% post–consumer content is common, but you can find paper with higher levels if you do some searching. It's a good idea to establish minimum recycled content standards for the paper products you buy. All U.S. Government agencies, for example, are required to use writing and copier paper that contains 30% post–consumer materials. ⁴ Remember that you can purchase all types of recycled paper products for your office — printing and copy paper and letterhead in addition to paper towels, corrugated boxes, and file folders can contain post–consumer content. Also, be sure to advertise that you're using recycled paper. Indicate your commitment on the back of your reports, brochures, and even your letterhead. It's smart business sense to let your customers know that you care about the environment, and leading by example is a powerful way to encourage others to use recycled paper.


1 Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance, http://www.moea.state.mn.us/campaign/workplace.
2 Colorado Association of Recycling, Office Recycling Information, http://www.cafr.org/office/office_guide.htm.
3 The Alliance for Environmental Innovation, with Business for Social Responsibility (a project of the Environmental Defense Fund and The Pew Charitable Trust), "Make That Recycled: A Buyer's Guide to Recycled Coated Freesheet Paper," June 2000, p. 5,
4 Executive Order 13101, Greening the Government Through Waste Prevention, Recycling, and Federal Acquisition, Section 505, September 14, 1998.

The information contained in this article is only an overview of the subject matter made for general guidance to the reader, and is subject in all cases to limitations and disclaimers set forth in Staples' Legal Terms and Conditions.