As consumers we know to recycle paper, but our goal should be to limit use in the first place. Paper cannot be recycled indefinitely. Seven to ten times through is about the maximum before the fibers breakdown.

The private sector has cut back, but, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average office worker still consumes an average of 10,000 sheets per year. In terms of cost and efficiency, purchasing the paper is a fraction of the impact. The labor needed to do that paper shuffling and the resources to store, file and distribute it adds up. Here are some ways for your office to transition into a paperless work place:

• Print double sided
• Don’t print emails
• Buy paper with recycled content without chlorine
• Manage mailing lists to avoid outgoing junk mail
• Print a test for big copying jobs
• Use a print tracking system so an individual user or division can account for usage
• Create online forms and reports