| If you've at all been thinking about putting together your | | | | once are used each year in just the United States. |
| own green office, there are some statistics that very | | | | The report found that 15-million pounds of polyester |
| possibly could be the final determining factor for you. | | | | transparency films are thrown away in the U.S. |
| Paper, office supplies and furniture that cannot be | | | | annually and that if businesses would remanufacture |
| recycled accounts for a massive amount of materials | | | | their ink cartridges, they would be saving about $1.5 |
| that clutter landfills today. | | | | billion each year. |
| Paper | | | | If you focus on reusing office products and buying |
| In terms of putting together a green office, paper and | | | | multiple-use products rather than single-use products, |
| paperboard is consumed in massive amounts each | | | | you can not only save money for your organization |
| year. In fact, most of the paper we use in our offices | | | | but you can also do your part to help the environment. |
| today, still ends up as waste. Simply creating the paper | | | | You can also do your part by buying office products |
| causes environmental problems, as toxic chemicals are | | | | that don't have toxic solvents and products that can |
| released into the air making printing, copying and writing | | | | be remanufactured instead of taking up space in |
| paper. These emissions increase the pollution in the air | | | | landfills. |
| and do harm the respiration of those living around | | | | Office Furniture |
| paper mills. | | | | There are two main environmental issues with |
| You can make your office greener by setting your | | | | standard wooden office furniture and equipment. The |
| copying machine to copy on both sides of every sheet | | | | first is that by simply creating the pieces of furniture, |
| of paper, by reducing standard-sized copying images | | | | their construction is depleting the forest and mineral |
| to fit two documents on one sheet, and by reusing | | | | reserves. The second is that the manufacturing |
| paper as scrap. | | | | processes of making furniture pollute the air and our |
| Office Supplies | | | | water supply through volatile organic compounds. In |
| Non-green offices hurt the environment by using and | | | | fact, by simply having the furniture sitting in your office, |
| discarding many, many transparency films, single-use | | | | it may continue to discharge these compounds into the |
| pens, printer cartridges and clipboards. A recent Green | | | | air. |
| Report found that 1.6 million pens that can only be used | | | | |