Thursday July 24th, 2008
Paper Trail
 |  |
 |
Paper Trail
One ream of paper (that's 500 sheets) uses up 6 percent of a tree. It's tempting to print out everything we see on-line - recipes, driving directions, movie reviews, jokes - but there are ways to cut down on paper waste. Remember to print on both sides of the paper when possible, use scrap sheets for lists and notes, and recycle all your home office paper, which accounts for nearly 18 percent of all the solid waste generated in the United States.
Choose recycled paper with the highest post-consumer waste content possible. Unbleached recycled paper is best for the earth. Companies like New Leaf Paper in San Francisco, Greenline Paper in Pennsylvania, and Treecycle in Montana produce paper that is 100 percent post-consumer waste. All three companies sell cases of their eco-friendly paper on the Internet.
Also, remember to recycle your laser toner cartridges. Most companies that manufacture them have excellent recycling programs. Your new cartridge comes with a prepaid shipping label for easy returns, so there's no excuse for not recycling.
—Nell Newman, Newman's Own Organics
Related Shop Items
I recycle my paper at work by printing on both sides whenever I can. We have such a glutton of wasted paper, I could cry! I reuse the paper in my personal printer and just "X" the side that is the old info. Everyone should be doing this!
namaste
And the old saying, "mountains of paperwork" is true, however both government entities I've been employed with, recycle all the white paper from printers, copiers, etc that is used but does not end up in a file. Considering we are heading toward a paperless environment, I applaud the efforts of both Arizona and Alaska's conservation efforts.