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Responsible use of paper in your church office
If your church office is like most, you probably use a lot of paper -
and paper is not cheap. But equally important, our use of paper directly
affects our forests and even our health. Purchasing recycled,
chlorine-free paper for our church offices and then using it with
restraint is another way we can be
responsible stewards of God's creation.
Why?
 | The U.S., with 5% of the world's population, consumes 30% of the
world's paper. |
| Producing a ton of virgin paper requires 17 trees and 7000 more
gallons of water than a ton of 100% recycled paper. |
| Chlorine is often used in the bleaching process, releasing the
carcinogenic chemical dioxin and other toxins |
| Producing recycled paper reduces air pollution by 74%, water
pollution by 35%, and energy consumption by 60-70% |
The solution
| Buy "processed chlorine free" (PCF) or "totally
chlorine free" (TCF) paper with high post-consumer recycled content.
IMPORTANT: Note that "elementally
chlorine-free" paper is not the same as PCF or TCF; this process still produces dioxins. |
| Spread the word by putting a note at the bottom of the paper
indicating that you're using process chlorine-free, post-consumer recycled paper. Let people
know that churches are good stewards of God's creation! |
More info:
| Here's info from the Natural
Resources Council of Maine - including lists of where you can
purchase such paper. |
| How institutions
can buy environmentally preferable paper. |
| Here are some tips
from the United Methodist Women. |
Conserve paper and you conserve trees, energy, and water! And since
buying chlorine-free, post-consumer recycled paper can sometimes be more
expensive, you can reduce the total office paper expenses just by using
less.
Here are some ideas for reducing your use of paper:
| Use a software program such as FinePrint
which allows you to easily print two (or more) pages on a side, print on
both sides, delete unwanted pages before printing, print in booklet form as well as many other printing
tricks. You can save a lot of paper, ink, and money by investing in
this type of software.
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| Decrease the size of margins, using single space or 1 1/2 space
instead of double spacing. With a little care, you might get the whole document on
one page instead of two!
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| Use both sides of the paper.
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| If the document fits on one side of a page, try formatting it as
two columns and then print the same document on the other side. Cut
it in half so that half of the text is on the front of the
half-sheet and the rest is on the back. You have just reduced your
paper use by half!
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| Format text in columns. It seems to take up less space and is
often easier to read.
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| Save leftover copies that are blank on one side and use them for
scrap paper. If it's not crumpled, many printers will work just fine
using this scrap paper.
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| Perhaps the easiest way to save paper is not to use it at all.
Does everything really need to be printed out? Perhaps an
announcement at the beginning of the service or a poster displayed
at the door will spread the word as well as that extra sheet of
paper stuffed in the bulletin. Maybe people at committee meetings
really don't all need (or want!) every piece of information printed
out. Do you print out your email before even considering whether
it's something you need? Think before you print! |
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