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MCC Daily Tribune Archive

Green Tip of the Week: Paper use at MCC


How much do you think about the paper that YOU use everyday here at MCC?? Most people would be surprised to hear some “paper” facts specific to MCC. 

Currently, MCC buys and uses 780 cartons of paper a year.  That amounts to 378 tons or 756,000 pounds of paper used by MCC annually with a hefty price tag of $86,940/year. 

How much of that paper is recycled?  Since all fiber-based materials are recycled together (office paper, cardboard, etc.), it is difficult to tell how much of the 80—100 tons of fiber recycled at MCC each year is paper.  However, it is estimated that MCC misses AT LEAST 90 tons or 180,000 pounds of paper each year that goes into a landfill rather than to a recycling center.  

Here are some estimates of “savings” associated with using a ton of recycled paper compared to the production of a ton of paper from virgin wood: 

•    Saves 2 tons of wood
•    Saves 40—64% of energy use
•    Saves 3 cubic meters of land fill space (that’s a volume equivalent to 792 gallons!)
•    Reduces water pollution by 35% and air pollution by 74%

MCC does its part for the environment when it comes to paper by attempting to purchase only paper that contains 30% post-consumer fiber (recycled paper).  The latest paper product purchased by MCC is Husky Xerocopy, a SFI (Sustainable Forest Initiative) certified product. This paper comes from sustainably managed forests that are environmentally friendly.

Here are some quick tips to increase your paper “efficiency”:

•    Print and copy everything double sided. 
•    Send electronic versions of documents when possible. 
•    Decrease margins from 1.25” to 1” or even 0.7—0.5” when possible.
•    Reuse single-sided printed documents as scratch paper or for draft printing. 
•    Print fliers and informational documents as needed.  Don’t stockpile printed copies.  When you do need to update these documents, fewer will be wasted… especially if you reuse them for scratch paper or rough drafts.
•    Encourage students and colleagues to reduce, reuse, and recycle.
•    Last but not least, recycle all office paper in the blue recycling bins or in the document shredder rather than the trash. 

You too can help reduce costs at MCC, save landfill space, save trees, save energy, and reduce air and water pollution.  Please incorporate some or all of these tips into your daily routine.  Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle!!

Many thanks to Fred McCullough the Director of Building Services, Patrick Bates the Director of Purchasing and Bill Gruhn of ETS Printing Services for the MCC specific statistics. 

Jennifer Hill
Biology
03/26/2008