Rethink paper handouts

Rethink paper handouts

Using the internet and then storing the information in a computer folder saves a lot of time and eliminates clutter.

By decreasing the use of paper you prevent wasted energy and decrease greenhouse gas emissions along with other benefits.

The use of all this paper comes at a heavy cost to the environment. By decreasing the use of paper you prevent

wasted energy and decrease greenhouse gas emissions along with other benefits.

Are your desk, shelves, and other flat surfaces swimming in paper? If you have an office job or go to meetings, its easy to end up with large piles of paper handouts you’ll never look at again.

Or you may casually pick up free brochures at stores, museums, concerts, or open houses when you could have gotten the information you need on-line.

Manufacturing five sheets of office paper takes about the same amount of energy needed to run an 80 watt bulb for an hour. Like most products, the different phases of the life cycle of paper contribute to the climate change crisis by causing the emission of greenhouse gases. Energy is needed for obtaining the raw materials, and the manufacturing, transporting, printing, and disposing of the paper.

There is also the problem of chemicals used to make paper, the loss of trees.

In the trash, decomposing under the anaerobic landfill conditions, paper emits methane, a greenhouse gas.

Before printing off reams of paper, think about whether paper handouts are really necessary. Instead, could you post the information on-line? Could you tack up a single copy on a bulletin board or store it in a common file?

Do you spend time gathering information from the internet? Rather than jotting down notes to yourself, just copy and paste what you need onto a page of your word processing program. It’s easy to file this in your computer. You’ll have easy access to the information you need with no paper used and no mess.

Reducing paper use results in a happy convergence of helping the environment and saving money. In addition to saving on paper costs, you’ll save on ink and other copying expenses.

If you must print hand outs, consider whether the information will fit on a half sheets or less. Use both sides of the paper. Buy recycled paper and recycle your paper waste.

Remember: PC files, not paper files. Always ask yourself, “Do I really need a hard copy?”