by Virginia L. Allen

Created on: March 11, 2009

The book "How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint" by Joanna Yarrow states; "theoretically, many offices are now 'paperless', encouraging people to communicate via computer, rather than the printed word. But in reality, paper still represents more than 70% of office waste!" Eyeopening statistics for those trying their best to reduce their impact on the environment. Therefore, with this statistic in mind, what can one do to further reduce the paper waste in the office?

1.) Print less often and as little as possible. This can be done by; a.) reviewing and modifying documents while they are still on the screen, and b.) minimizing the amount of hard copies and paper drafts you make.

2.) When creating larger documents, use smaller font sizes that are still readable. Thereby, allowing more word space on a single sheet of paper.

3.) Disable the test or banner page feature on your printer. Some printers use this feature anytime the printer is turned on, or a document is printed. This feature is truly a waste of paper.

4.) Recycle wastepaper.

5.) Use paper that has been printed on just one side for scrap-paper, or in printing drafts.

6.) Whenever the situation is conducive to it, make double-sided prints or copies.

7.) Bookmark research or information sites and refer back to them instead of printing the information out.

8.) In the event documents must be shared in the office, try circulating them instead of printing individual copies for each person.

9.) Send faxes directly from your computer, to eliminate the need for hard copy. In the event you must fax using hard copies, save paper by eliminating the cover sheet.

10.) Instead of paper memos, send out memos via e-mail.

11.) Avoid needlessly printing E-mail messages.

12.) Purchase recycled printing paper and other forms of stationery.

13.) Purchase a duplex printer, which prints on both sides of the paper.

With all the strides taken to create the "paperless office",many companies have found reaching this goal extremely elusive. People truly have a love affair with paper. This is because it literally places the information at their fingertips. It's tangibleness is its appeal. In addition paper is cheap, stable, portable, easy to archive, and recyclable. It's no wonder that paper is hard to put down (no pun intended).

However, the simple fact that the average American uses approximately 580lbs of paper each year, should be the incentive to get us to do better regarding our paper consumption. Therefore, what better place to showcase our environmental consciousness, than the office.

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