The Green Minute: Office Printing

According to the Sierra Club “At the Office” Green Living Tips website, the average U.S. office worker goes through 10,000 sheets of copy paper a year.

How do you “green up” your office when it comes to printing? Follow these tips, and you will save resources and money.

• Print on both sides or use the back side of old documents for faxes, scrap paper, or drafts. Avoid color printing and print in draft mode whenever feasible.
• Buy chlorine-free paper with a higher percentage of post-consumer recycled content or consider switching to a lighter stock of paper or alternatives made from bamboo, hemp, organic cotton, or kenaf.
• Recycle toner and ink cartridges and buy remanufactured ones. According to Office Depot, each remanufactured toner cartridge “keeps approximately 2.5 pounds of metal and plastic out of landfills… and conserves about a half-gallon of oil.”
• Think before you print: could this be read or stored online instead? When you receive unwanted catalogs, newsletters, magazines, or junk mail, ask to be removed from the mailing list. Then recycle the item.
• Download the new Ecofont – a new typeface that incorporates tiny, inkless circles that minimize ink usage by up to 20 percent. Best of all: it’s free.
• Post employee manuals and similar materials online rather than distribute print copies. They’re easier to update that way too.