The environment has suffered from neglect for so many decades, and the effects are devastating. In this day and age when technology has allowed us to be more conscious of the carbon footprint we leave on the environment, it is imperative to reduce wastage in every aspect of our lives as much as possible. The office is one place where paper and energy are wasted on a grand scale. Here are some useful tips that we can employ to reduce the effects of wastage on the environment when using printers and photocopiers.
Use Recycled Paper
There are eco-friendly paper manufacturers that produce paper from recycled materials. Although its quality may be less than freshly-produced paper, using it will greatly reduce the need to cut more trees in order to produce more paper.
Print on Both Sides
People have got so used to printing on just one side of the paper, and when they are done with their printouts, they throw them away. When printing or copying multiple pages at one time, it is advisable to print on both sides of the paper. This will reduce paper usage by half. Also, one-page documents that are no longer needed could be used to print or copy more one-page documents on the other side of the paper. Simply cross out the previous page to determine which one is the new print.
Unplug
Each time that a printer or copier is not in use, unplugging it will reduce your office’s energy consumption. Not only will the environment benefit from it, but your office’s electricity bill will also be reduced. Once office hours are over, unplugging all electrical equipment will save energy as well as prevent fires resulting from faulty sockets and wiring.
Save Documents on the Computer
Debate whether you need a print out of a document or otherwise. If it can be saved on the computer and sent as an email, then go for the latter. This is especially useful for multiple page documents that need to be read by several people. Imagine the amount of paper your office can save from this technique.
Recycle Toner and Ink Cartridges
Cartridges can be reused. Ask your print or copier company to provide you with a recycling box where you can keep all your empty cartridges to be collected to be reused. Materials used in cartridges require natural resources to be produced. So if used ones can be refilled, then there will be no more need to produce new ones from scratch. If you are leasing your printers and copiers from companies like www.copyrightsystems.co.uk, you can partner with them in making sure cartridges are recycled.
There are so many things that can be done to reduce your office’s carbon footprint. If each employee contributes in reducing waste, then there will be less and less negative impact on the environment.
