6 Easy Ways To Save Paper In Your Office

By Staff Reporter - 17 March 2021

Features

Global warming is real. Hence, many companies and industries are trying to switch to using more environmental-friendly products and solutions, such as using paper instead of plastics.

However, paper isn’t all environment-friendly at all. It’s just the lesser evil compared to plastics. Industries just switch to using paper products as it decomposes faster than plastic. Yet, the process of manufacturing paper and other paper products still releases harmful chemicals into the air, contributing to pollution.

 

 

Unfortunately, office workers are one of the biggest contributors to this problem as they use more paper than others. From the start of their day to the end of their shift, a huge amount of paper and paper products are used every day.

Luckily, there are ways how you can reduce your paper use and help the environment. Regardless of what kind of office you’re in, here are some ways how you can help:

1. Use Both Sides of Paper

A lot of people are used to printing on one side of the paper only, probably because it’s what we’ve gotten used to, and it looks more formal. But if you use both sides, you’ll be able to save double the amount of paper that you use.

Legal documents can be printed double-sided too. So, if you’re not familiar with how to print double-sided yet, try to learn and practice it now to make a small yet significant difference for the environment. Be careful, though, as court documents need to be printed one-sided.

Or if you can’t print on them anymore, collect those one-sided print papers and re-use them for personal use. You can cut them into smaller pieces and use them like a notepad, so you won’t have to buy a new one.

2. Don’t Overprint

Truth be told, many of us overprint as it seems a safer option, so we don’t have to print over and over again, which can be time and energy-consuming. However, it’s not an ideal thing to do as it produces more paper waste.

So, if you need to print several documents, just print based on the exact number of people whom you’re sure going to use it and just make another copy only if you need to. This will save more paper in the long run.

3. Consider Digital Solutions

These days there are now countless digital solutions that will help you save space, storage, and paper. One of them is using cloud storage. For starters, this lets you store all your data on the internet.

With this, you won’t need to use papers as you can easily share access to your co-workers or employees as long as there’s an internet connection. This can be accessed at any given time, anywhere you are in the world too, unlike hard copies of data and documents. And because it’s digital, you won’t need to worry about your storage and space in the office. 

This doesn’t come for free, though. Still, over time, you’ll be able to save more paper, time, and effort.

4. Always Check Documents Before Printing

Sometimes, when we have a lot of work to do, we often tend to forget to thoroughly check documents before printing them. As a result, we’ll need to print it again, wasting a lot of paper. To prevent this, make it a habit to proofread and preview the files you need to print first.

5. Recycle

Recycling is a huge help for the environment. This cuts down the use of new and raw materials. Hence, we reduce the production of new materials that release harmful chemicals into the air. As a result, we produce a lesser amount of waste over time. That said, get a recycling bin for your office that everyone can use.

6. Communicate Through Emails and Messaging Apps

If you’re used to communicating via letters, be it with your clients or co-workers, it’s time to utilize technology and communicate via messaging apps instead. This will save you a huge amount of paper too.

Sure, it looks formal if you send physical mails, especially if you’re trying to communicate or with your clients. However, it’s not environment-friendly.

Save the environment and turn to message apps instead. Apart from the fact that it’s environment-friendly, you also won’t need to wait long to send and receive messages. With just a few clicks and with a fast internet connection, you can reply and receive messages in real-time.

 

 

More than 90% of our natural resources are hard to replace, including the trees used to create paper. But with small deeds such as saving paper in your office, you’re able to reduce your waste and help the environment.

 
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