Paper Trail, Part I

Last week, as I was emptying my paper recycling box, I started wondering what exactly was going into the recycling from my household and whether I could do anything to reduce the amount of paper we use. Here is a rough estimate of what I saw as I emptied the box:

60% credit card offers, catalogs, flyers and other junk mail
25% real mail or parts of real mail (bank statement envelopes, cards from friends, etc.)
15% paper I used at home (such as school-related notes and grocery lists)

The first thing that came to mind after evaluating the contents of the box was, "What? Most of this is stuff I didn't even ask for or want! What a senseless waste!"

My second thought was a little more pleasant. Reducing the amount of paper I use for home and school purposes is something I've been working on for quite a while, and I was rather proud to see how small that third category has become.

We all know that even the smallest scraps of paper add up quickly and create a big pile of waste, so even the simplest reduction in paper use can have a big impact on the environment. Of course, a lot of us use more paper in the office or at school than at home, but the same methods apply equally well there. Make sure you know the location of the recycling bin and use it well. You can even make your own box for your desk, then empty it out at the end of the day or week. Here are the steps I've taken to reduce my personal paper use:

1. Recycle everything!

As a born and raised environmentalist this seems to me like it should go without saying, but I am continually surprised and saddened by the amount of paper that I see in garbage cans, even when a recycling bin is literally a foot away. So first things first, make sure you recycle all the paper you can. You'll want to check with your city recycling collectors or facility or whoever collects your recycling for any specific rules on what they can and can't accept, but here are some general guidelines:

White and pastel-colored paper, sticky notes, envelopes with or without windows, newspapers, magazines, brown paper bags, and staples are usually fine.
Very dark colored papers, waxy papers, gift wrap, cardboard, and paperboard (think cereal box) may not be accepted or may need to be sorted separately.

2. Buy recycled paper products.

All this recycling doesn't do much good if no one buys the products that your old to-do lists is transformed in to. Fortunately, it's gotten much easier to find products made of recycled paper. And it's not like when I was in high school and my dad bought me recycled notebook paper that was an ugly shade of gray. Nowadays recycled paper is usually indistinguishable from non-recycled, and a quick search of a major office supply store's website turns up recycled copy/printer paper, spiral notebooks, even sticky notes and manila folders. When shopping for recycled paper, look for a high percentage of "post-consumer waste." This means the material has come from regular people's recycling bins. The alternative is post-industrial waste, which might include things like scraps from the manufacturing process. This is still a lot better than brand-new paper straight from the tree, but post-consumer waste is usually seen as better for the environment because it's more likely to be headed for the landfill otherwise; post-industrial waste is often reused by manufacturers anyway in order to save money.

3. Use both sides of every sheet.

This is another simple concept that many people never think of, but that makes a huge difference in the amount of paper I use. Before putting a sheet of paper in the recycling bin, I check to make sure that both sides have been used. If one side is still blank or only has one line on it, I put it in a tray on my desk. Then I use this supply of scratch paper for scribbling early attempts at homework problems (and there are usually a lot of those!), outlining things I'm writing, printing directions to my friend's house--anything that doesn't need to look particularly pretty. I'm even planning to use this paper, hole-punched and put in binders, for all my class notes during the next school year. After all, despite my best efforts, my officemates and I still generate plenty of one-sided paper, and only I will care what my notes look like. There are many situations like this where it just doesn't matter what's on the other side of the sheet, and these are great opportunities to reuse paper before it even hits the recycling bin.

4. Think before you print!

Technology can be a wonderful thing. It has its problems, of course, but one thing that I appreciate about having computers and the Internet around is that I can store much of the information I need on the computer without printing everything out. (There's also the small matter of meeting my husband on the Internet, but that's another story!) Now, before hitting "print," I always think about whether I really need a hard copy of this particular document. There are now a number of high-tech options that allow us to avoid a lot of extra printing. You can email documents to yourself or others--cheap and environmentally friendly! Or you can get a bit fancier and use a PDA or USB storage drive if you're like me and need to move your files between several locations. Of course, sometimes you really do need a hard copy; it's hard to highlight and edit something when it's on a computer screen. If you do need to print something, print it on the back of scratch paper as mentioned above, or at least print double-sided if possible.

5. Unsubscribe to things you don't actually read.

Some of the bulkiest things that end up in our recycling bin are magazines. We don't get the newspaper, but it would be a large fraction of our paper use if we did. Why don't we get the newspaper, you ask? Because I'm positive neither of us would read it. I've also been phasing out our magazine subscriptions until we're down to the few that we actually read and enjoy. Here is another place where technology can take the place of paper--much of the content in newspapers and magazines is now available online, either for free or for less than the paper copies cost. Of course, there is a certain amount of pleasure to be had in reading things on paper, but for me it's only worth it if I'm going to read the whole thing. If you do subscribe to periodicals, get the most possible use out of them by sharing copies with neighbors or friends and donating old issues to schools or other community groups. (Just to prove to you that I'm not the perfect environmentalist, I don't do this myself--but I think I'll start!)

6. Get creative with reusing.

Most of the paper that I use is either regular white office paper or lined notebook paper. But I occasionally find some other kind of paper that's outlived its original use, but that I'm too stubborn to recycle without reusing it for something else first! Here's a grab bag of ideas for different types of paper:

Small pieces of scratch paper, as well as the backs of envelopes, make good paper for shopping lists or to-do lists.
The pictures from old calendars can be nice mini-posters for a child's room or fodder for art projects. If you can't use them, donate them to a school or other group.
Shredded office paper can be added to your compost pile or bin.
Cut out part of the picture from the front of a used greeting card and use it as a gift tag.

As you can tell, I've been thinking about reducing my personal paper use for a long time, which is why this category is down to only 15% of my recyling bin contents. Now I just need to find a way to curtail the paper entering my household from outside sources. In future issues I'll share simple ways to reduce the amount of junk mail you receive and ways to limit the amount of paper used in legitimate mail. Stay tuned!