Reduce Paper Waste In Your Office

According to the Paperless Project, “the average office worker continues to use a staggering 10,000 sheets of copy paper every year,” despite digital technology that, in theory, would facilitate offices going paperless. No conversation about sustainability in the office can be complete without discussing paper waste. The following are ways to decrease paper waste at work: 

Recycling 

Does your office already have a recycling service? If not, this is a good place to start. Make sure you have enough recycling bins to accommodate the paper your company uses. It might be a good idea to obtain more bins. Make sure the bins are attractive and fit in with the decor. Ensure that every cubicle has a recycling bin, so that no paper accidentally ends up in the trash bin. 

It is important to have recycling bins located close to the areas where paper is most likely to be thrown away. For instance, keep the paper recycle bin right next to the copy machine and printer, so that any unsatisfactory print job can be properly placed in the bin. 

Reuse

Donate your one-sided sheets to a local school for reuse. This can help cut down on the school’s paper use, as well. Use scrap paper rather than virgin paper for printing tests. This can cut down on unnecessary use of pristine paper. 

Create a Company Paper Policy 

Create a policy on paper use for your office so that people are aware of the need to decrease paper waste. The Business Guide to Paper Reduction, by Heather Sarantis, is an excellent resource. Buy paper products with post-consumer recycled content and/or products with Forest Stewardship Certification (FSC). Ensure that large print jobs are first tested in small batches; a large botched print job can be extremely wasteful. Ask employees to do a test print of one copy before printing more than ten pages at a time. Encourage employees to use digital copies rather than physical copies whenever possible. In addition to wasting paper, filing paper copies can be extremely time-consuming.

Bathroom Supplies

Obtain recycled-content toilet paper and paper towels. These products also come from trees, and it’s important to look at their sourcing as well as the sourcing of the copy paper in your office. Replace the paper towels with an electric hand-dryer to reduce paper use.

With more awareness of how much paper is wasted in your office and some thoughtful ideas on how to curb that waste, you can curb your use of paper products and do so in a way that benefits the bottom line as well as the planet.