6. Dodge the drafts.
Printer drafts, that is. Unless you’re printing something super important, save ink and paper by tracking your changes in electronic documents. If you absolutely need to print something, print it double-sided. Who could conscientiously object to that?
7. Pay the piper online.
You probably already do it at home for convenience, but lessen your paper clutter at the office too by banking and paying bills online. Phone companies alone use 23,280 tons of paper per year just to bill U.S. residential customers for single lines of service.
8. Get inked.
Ink cartridges take eons to decompose (up to 450 years!). Recycle your old ones, and next time you buy, go with refilled cartridges, which work just like conventional ones and cost up to 75 percent less than new ones.
9. Safeguard Your lunch.
Baggies are piling up in landfills quicker than you can say “ziplock,” and toxins in plastics are no picnic. Reduce waste by taking your lunch in reusable, safe containers. Some plastics, like PVC (#3), polystyrene (#6) and polycarbonate (#7) contain hormone disruptors or other nasty chemicals. Stay healthy with plastics #1, 2, 4, or 5.
10. Climb your way to green.
A surefire way to avoid awkward elevator silences and save energy? Take the stairs instead. No surprises here: climbing stairs burns up to 10 times more calories than standing in an elevator. And, depending on type, capacity, and usage, an elevator’s yearly energy usage can equal the energy used to power seven homes annually.
