Environmentally-Friendly Ways To Use An Office Printer

In these days of environmental concern, most people want to take some steps to reduce their carbon footprint, cut pollution and help make the world a greener place. 

 

While everyone can take steps to do that in their own lives and those in local or national government can implement policies to help with this goal, there is also much you can do in your company office. 

 

That might involve a lot of work on recycling, a cycle-to-work scheme or corporate social responsibility activities such as getting involved with environmental charities; but a major impact can come from the way you use your appliances, not least the office printer. 

 

For example, you should make sure that the device, like others in the office, is turned off at night. Even on standby, the electricity used will add up. This is true in homes - where British Gas estimated last year that devices left on standby increased annual fuel bills by £147 while the Energy Saving Trust put the figure at £55 a year - but it is equally applicable in the office. 

 

As well as the extra cost involved, that energy has to come from somewhere, so until all our electricity comes from renewables it is going to mean more fossil fuels being burned. This is especially so in Britain, where coal has just about been eliminated, but gas is burned in power stations to generate more than a third of the UK’s electricity. 

 

Another obvious tip is to be careful not to accidentally print extra copies that use up excess paper, while any waste paper you do generate should be recycled. 

 

Besides these measures, it may be worth thinking about the printer ink cartridges you use. As Printer Cartridge Recycling notes, sending your used cartridges to be recycled does not just keep them out of landfill; they can be refilled with ink and used for low to medium-quality print jobs, so for many purposes, you can also use a recycled cartridge. 

 

By doing this and reducing plastic waste, you can help at both ends of the life cycle of such products. 

Firstly, this can reduce the number of plastic items being made, which means less petrochemical manufacturing that creates plastic in the first place. Secondly, the reduction in waste does not just mean less landfill, but fewer items ending up in other places, like streams, rivers and, eventually, the sea. 

 

Plastic takes an enormously long time to break down. According to Forge Recycling, this can be anything from 20 years to 500, depending on factors such as an item’s structure and levels of exposure to sunlight. As it does so, it leaches various toxins into the environment. 

 

For that reason, whatever cartridges you use it is vital to have them recycled. If they have been used twice and can’t be re-used again, they should go into your plastic recycling bin. 

 

All these steps will do more than just help make your printer use greener; they can also save money on ink, paper and electricity. It’s a win-win all round.