March 13 – Reduce Paper Usage

“You shall not destroy its trees by wielding an axe against them. You may eat from them, but you shall not cut them down.” ~ Deuteronomy 20:19

Look at use of paper at home, office and church. What can you change?

Today, millions of people worldwide are still overwhelmed by floods if paper sticking out if their desks and drawers. The right technology to prevent this has been invented years ago yet people are still dependent on paper. From our newspapers to our paper wrappings, paper is still everywhere and most of it ends up in landfills creating a huge amount of paper waste.

Why should you reduce paper usage:

Saves you money in the long run. Paper costs tend to add up over time.
The process of recycling paper requires energy and usually bleaching agents. Both bleach and energy production generally harm the environment.
About 90% of paper comes from trees, the majority of which are not sustainably harvested.
By reducing your paper use you can reduce the demand for this generally non-renewable industry.

What you can do:

Always ask for digital versions of documents
Always ask for digital versions for example: Use a notes app instead of your paper notebook; Use your built-in smartphone calendar instead of a paper planner/calendar; Use reminders or task managers on your smart phone instead of sticky notes; Use a cloud storage like Dropbox instead of your paper filing cabinet
Sign up for electronic bills
Use online signup forms instead of paper forms
Switch from paper books to soft copy books
Do not print out pew leaflets at church, use a projector instead
Use the Bible App instead of using a hard copy bible
Do not use disposable material such as cups, plates, cutlery etc
Switch to email instead of posted mail
Use electronic devices for meetings. Encourage the use laptops, tablets, and mobile phones for meetings and other situations where they need to take notes.
Switch to digital receipts
Switch to e-signatures
Use cloth napkins
Use rags instead of paper towels.
Use a handkerchief instead of tissue.
Use a white board for lists/notes/announcements.
Buy bulk foods using your own reusable containers rather than buying supermarket boxed goods.
Recycle paper