15 OFFICE RECYCLING TIPS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

Here’s how you can save on office supplies and environmental

wear and tear:

1. Save paper by using plain-paper fax machines so you can

recycle faxed documents. Even better, use fax modems and

receive faxes on your computers without using paper.

2. Use electronic mail to save paper.

3. Use recycled toner cartridges and recycled white paper

in your laser printers.

4. Consider using double-sided printing to cut paper con-

sumption almost in half.

5. Eliminate paper memos. Post important notices at elevators

and other key areas to cut down the use of paper.

6. When buying a word processor, consider its print-preview

capabilities; if it doesn’t provide the view that’s needed,

you could wind up wasting more paper in “draft” print jobs.

7. Use the Save-A-Tree shareware utility to compress text

files from two pages to one.

8. Purchase software on CD-ROM instead of floppy disks. You

not only eliminate a handful of floppies, you get on-line

documentation, eliminating the need for burdensome paper

manuals.

9. Create electronic forms for human resources and other de-

partments. Instead of wasting paper on forms for medical

benefits, employees can fill in the blanks on their com-

puter screens.

10. Examine the trade-off between hard copy and electronic

distribution for both in-house and external communications.

How many copies of a 50-page monthly report or quarterly

catalog does it take to pay back the cost of a more sophis-

ticated information system that provides only needed data on

demand?

11. Recycle shipping materials.

12. Have an annual fire sale where each department displays

used office equipment and swaps with other departments.

Allow employees to have a chance to buy used office equip-

ment at bargain prices.

13. Use unbleached paper and refillable pens.

14. Look for plastics marked with recycling codes, organic

packaging materials instead of plastic foam “peanuts,”

and appropriate use of recycled papers.

15. Encourage automobile commuting. Apple provides free shut-

tle buses from local commuter train stations, bicycles

for use between buildings and rides home in emergencies.