Welp MagazineIf you’re looking for ways to create a more sustainable office space, how you use your office’s paper supply provides plenty of options. While many offices and businesses are choosing digital files to cut back on paper use, there are still many office spaces that utilize printing and paper documents. If your office relies on paper, here are some ways you can reuse recycled paper to practice more sustainable habits in your office.
Scrap/Note Paper
If you typically only print on a single side of your printed documents, get the most out of your paper by utilizing the blank side too. If the documents don’t contain any personal or confidential information, you can use the blank side as scratch paper, notes, or even as printer paper again. Place the blank side into your printer or copier to print on the blank side. Utilizing both sides of a sheet of paper can cut your paper usage in half. Plus, it helps reduce the amount of trash and recycling your business produces.
Packing Material
You won’t be able to use all single-sided documents as scratch paper. Some documents will contain personal or confidential information and will require shredding. There are some dos and don’ts of recycling shredded paper that can complicate the process, and some recycling companies don’t even accept paper scraps.
However, there are still ways to reuse and recycle shredded paper in your office. For example, you can use strip-cut or cross-cut paper shreds as packing materials for safely shipping items. You can also use shredded paper to store fragile and breakable items in a warehouse or in storage spots throughout your office.
Compost Materials
Another way to use shredded paper scraps in the office is to place them in your local composting pile. Paper is an important addition to any composting pile, and shredded paper is perfect for composting because it is easy to break down. If you have a department-wide paper shredder, empty its bin as it starts to fill up and sprinkle the paper scraps between layers of your composting materials. Your office may also collect food scraps, compostable utensils, and other compost-friendly items, so don’t forget to add your paper scraps to the mix.
If your office isn’t ready to completely make the switch to digital files, you can still practice these ways to reuse and recycle paper in your workspace. These paper-saving habits can help your office be more sustainable and responsible with your paper usage.
