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If you work in an office (or ever have), you've probably got a pretty good idea of how much paper gets used—wasted—every day. Even those who haven't spent time in an office have probably done their fair share of printing too—students with reports, writers with their drafts, and everyone printing out directions on Mapquest. I know I do.
Needless to say, it'd be a pretty good idea if we'd all do our best to green our printing.
Post Consumer Recycled Paper
We'd save our environment a good deal of hassle by using Post Consumer Recycled—which is paper made from materials actually destined for the dump. Make sure you look for that label (It might say PCR, or PCW—Post Consumer Waste) so you can tell it apart from normal 'recycled' paper. There's a big difference: PCR paper is far more helpful to the environment, since actual waste is being prevented, and we should encourage companies that pursue this practice. Normal recycled paper is often 'recycled' anyways to help cut costs, and using it keeps the same paper in circulation (which is good too, just not as beneficial).
The Future of Printing
In the not-so distant future, we might actually be able to reuse the very paper we print, which could cut paper use enormously. But until then, we should all do our best to stick to sliding PCR paper into the printer when it's time to get those directions to that Thai food restaurant across town.
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