10 ways to make your office environment-friendly

Home Office Computing, Jan, 1991 by John Pivovarnick

10 Ways to Make Your Office Environment-Friendly

When personal computers exploded onto the scene, environmentalists rejoiced. The small computer promised an ecological utopia: the paperless office.

But today many of our computerized offices are anything but paperless. Every office produces waste paper, and many computer supplies are plastic and disposable. But if we recycle paper, reduce the amount of disposables we use, and avoid using office products containing compounds that harm the ozone layer, we can create a clutter-free office and a cleaner, healthier environment. Here are 10 ways to get started:

1. Don't print. Edit your documents onscreen. If you use e-mail or a fax board, print documents to disk rather than paper.

2. Use both sides of the page. Photocopies and printer test runs gooble paper. Print test runs on the backs of old drafts. Use fresh paper for final printouts only.

3. Reuse printer ribbons, so you will throw away fewer plastic cartridges. Keep an old ribbon for test prints and a new one for final copies.

4. Stop cleaning your computer with canned air. Or find a brand without chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which destroy the ozone layer. Use a mini vacuum cleaner instead.

5. Use rechargeable batteries. You'll save money and reduce the level of toxic metals in our landfills.

6. Recycle junk mail. Instead of reaching for the trash can, sort mail first and recycle all the high-grade white paper. Make sure it's free of foreign materials, such as plastic paper clips or address windows, which are not recyclable.

7. Use recycled products. Let customers know you care about the environment by including a discreet notation that says "Printed on Recycled Paper" on your brochures.

8. Dispose of disposables. Use up your supply of disposable pens, mechanical pencils, lighters--anything meant to be used once and tossed. Replace them with refillables and reusables and buy bulk refills.

9. Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents. According to Fifty Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth by The Earth Works Group, compact fluorescents cost more, but they last more than 100 times longer and use a quarter of the electricity.

10. Keep your eyes open. You know your business better than anyone. Examine how you do things with an eye toward finding environment-friendly improvements.

If you'd like more tips, look in the ecology section of your local library or bookstore. Or contact the Environmental Defense Fund by calling (800) CALL-EDF.