Date : 26th Feb 2023
How To Manage Paper Waste For Your Packaging Business ?
An average human wastes 680 pounds of paper in America. Shocking, isn't it? Especially when the numbers do go up when you are working in an office or have a business. Paper waste can comprise up to 70 percent of a company's total waste produced, and the number is shocking. It is estimated that an average office employee uses about ten thousand papers per year. This number goes way up when you are in the packaging business. A lot of paper is wasted unintentionally which affects the environment as well as your overall costs. If you are worried about rising costs and would like to save the environment as well as some cash, here's how you can!
How can paper waste impact you?
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When a wrong document is printed or there's a leak on the printer, the whole process has to be repeated. It adds to the paper, ink, and cartridge cost, which increases the financial costs.
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When you use a lot of paper, you may miss out on accumulating litter, which also accounts for a lot of paper waste. It impacts performance as well as attracts insects making it a perfect breeding ground.
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Paper waste fills about forty percent of landfills. Imagine the cost of transportation of the waste as well as burning of those wastes, creating pollution, which in turn affects you in the long term.
How you can save paper?
1. Going paperless as much as possible
This is an oxymoron in itself when you have a company focused on packaging, but still, there are ways you can cut down on the use of paper.
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Using digital media for communication and schedules.
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Only print out the pages needed from a bulky document.
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Try to fit more than a page or slide on a single page while printing.
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If the web content is being printed, copy and paste it to a document to avoid necessary pictures or lines you won't need.
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Sending a slide of the presentation instead of printing it.
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Switch to digital magazines and newspaper subscriptions.
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Use electronic collaboration. With the advent of software tools, paper collaboration can be avoided which would go through two to three revisions before finalization.
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Using both sides of a paper.
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Cutting out parts from pages that have not been used for rough work.
2. Buying and redesigning/reusing used papers
You can buy used paper to recycle into more packaging. You can also buy old papers and shred them to use as packing materials. You can buy used paper to make recyclable packaging for lighter items. You can make them into envelopes, and favor return bags if your company sells packaging for birthdays, invites, etc.
3. Heat And Eat Packaging
For edible items, you can make the packaging such that the packaging acts as a container as well as the packaging. If it's ready to heat and eat by just microwaving, it's a great way to save more paper.
4. Relying more on electronic gadgets
Do you store your important documents in separate files on the shelf or back office? You can still do the same, instead of just printing and filing it separately. Using cloud storage ensures quick retrieval of data. This saves time, effort, and paper. Also, doing more electronic transactions or sending e-bills ensures you have digital proof as well as you don't need to keep those receipts.
Final Thoughts
When you understand the impact of generating less paper waste, it not only helps the environment, but it also benefits you. With proper paper waste management, you can save quite an amount financially. Moreover, paper waste, both industrial and personal, is something that should not be taken for granted. The more paper you save, the greener your scenery and bank account.