Thursday, July 14, 2011

Recycling and Reducing Paper Use


Just about everyone has heard about the benefits of recycling.  It's nearly impossible to read a magazine or newspaper, or watch TV without seeing or hearing some news about the various forms of recycling. Recycling paper was one of the first types of recycling to be introduced to the general public and is still one of the most often practiced kinds. 

Continually cutting down trees to make paper is depleting the resources we have out there despite re-planting done by some companies.  When too many trees are cleared away the natural habitat for animals and plants is destroyed. This can have a very negative effect on our society as a whole. In addition, the trees that are cut down can no longer remove the carbon dioxide from the air we breathe.

One way to reduce the number of trees being cut down for paper is to recycle paper.  In this type of process the recycled paper is turned back into pulp. It gets mixed in with new pulp and turned into new types of paper. This is done so that the overall quality of the paper is still very good. When paper is recycled the fibers can weaken. Mixing them with new pulp improves the quality of the end product.

Paper recycling is simple because everyone uses paper in some capacity and you are most likely to be able to find paper recycling bins around the community.  In addition to recycling the paper you use in your daily activities, reducing the amount of paper you consume is beneficial as well.  Here are a few~some suggestions to help you limit the amount of paper you use everyday.

Go Paperless

One great way to reduce the amount of paper in your paper recycling bin is to go paperless as much as possible.  Just about every bank, utility company, mortgage company, and credit card group offers a paperless way to take care of business.  Most people already have an Internet connection in their homes, there is no reason to not make it work for you in every way.  Paying bills and managing accounts online save the paper the invoices and statements are printed on as well as save you the expense of a postal stamp. While no one wants to run the postal workers out of jobs, it just makes more sense to take care of business online where ever possible.  It's faster for you, saves tons of paper, and saves money in postal costs. 

Efficient Use of Your Printer Paper

Conserving paper used in is a good way of limiting your paper consumption.  Let's say you are printing some information to share with family or friends or for your own use.  Instead of printing everything on one side of the copy paper only, why not print on both sides.  Many printers these days have the ability to print on multiple sides so that you are using half of the paper for your project.  Of course, there are times when you need to print on one side only but for many print jobs, double-sided printing is just fine.

You can also re-use some paper.  If you have to print something out on only one side or it just takes one side of the paper, when you are finished with the paper, save it and print on the clean side.  Keep a stack of used paper by your printer for use when you don't care what is on the other side.

Use Recycled Paper Products

Pay attention to the paper you buy - you will find more and more of it is recycled. Many notebooks will say on the back if they are recycled or not. Even office supply companies are offering reams of recycled paper. It is still the same great quality that you want for your business so don't worry that it has been compromised. You will feel good knowing you are doing your part to recycle and to cut down the number of wasted trees that don't really have to be destroyed in order to have paper. 

You can do your part to recycle paper by collecting it and then dropping it off at collection centers. This can include papers at home you don't need and newspapers. Should you need to shred various types of papers though you can do so and then take the shreds for recycling. Have a set location at work for paper that can be recycled as well. 

Recycling paper is something easy that you can do for the benefit of your local community as well as the global one.  As most recycling and environmental experts would be happy to tell you, reducing the amount of paper you use is a wonderful way of conserving the world's forests.  With just a little bit of thought and some new habits you can be a part of the solution.




For more great recycling tips, visit us at RecycleKnowHow.com and get our free report.



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