Tips for reducing the amount of paper you buy and the amount you throw away.
Despite all the paper-free technology we enjoy today -- email, PDF files, digital photos -- ours is still anything but a paperless society. In fact, worldwide paper consumption per person has remained steady in recent years; while it's dropped a bit in the wealthiest countries, the average well-off person still uses about 502 pounds of paper a year.
It doesn't have to be that way, though. By changing a few old habits and finding creative new uses for paper waste (beyond the obvious: recycling), you can dramatically reduce the amount of paper products you buy and, eventually, throw away.
Here's how:
- Stock a kitchen drawer with lots of clean cloth kitchen towels. That way, whenever you spill some coffee, need to dry a dish or want to wipe your stovetop clean, you can quickly grab a cloth towel instead of a paper one. When you're done, just toss the used towel in your wash machine so it's ready to clean the next time you do a load of laundry. This habit has helped me all but eliminate the need for paper towels (I still use them occasionally for wiping up gross things like squashed bugs, which I don't want in my laundry!)
- Say no to junk mail. GreenDimes' innovative service can help you drastically cut the amount of unwanted mail coming to your home. Their services range from free (for which you'll receive online links to remove your name from multiple junk-mail lists and catalog companies) to $20 per month (which gets you automatic removal from more than two dozen junk-mail lists, monthly monitoring to keep you off unwanted mailing lists and five trees planted on your behalf) to $36 per month (with all of the above service plus a reusable bag, t-shirt and two compact fluorescent light bulbs).
- Get crafty. Old newspapers and magazines can be remade into a variety of useful or beautiful items. If you've got kids, revisit the art of paper mache and show them how to use waste paper to make pinatas, sculptures, toys, blocks, bowls, ornaments and other projects. And if you're into jewelry, you can create new fashions for yourself and others by quilling, origami or rolling strips of paper into beads.
- Reuse paper for other purposes. A crumpled page of newspaper and a squirt of vinegar can clean windows and mirrors streak-free. Shredded newspaper and magazines are good for packing material when you're shipping small or fragile items by mail. You can also use layers of newspaper or cardboard for "lasagna gardening," which helps you grow flowers, herbs and vegetables practically weed-free.
- Share subscriptions. While reading newspapers and magazines at the library is a great idea, you'll be upping your carbon footprint if you drive there every day. Walk or bike if you can, or -- as an alternative -- find a neighbor or nearby friend or relative to share a newspaper or magazine subscription with. That way, you've both cut part of your "paper footprint" in half.
The copyright of the article Reduce Your Paper Footprint in Green/Simple Living is owned by Shirley Siluk Gregory. Permission to republish Reduce Your Paper Footprint in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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