Office Eco Tips

Paper:

• To be truly ‘recycled’, office papers with recycled content should be made largely from recycled ‘post-consumer waste- wastepaper that has been used at least once by consumers, after which it is collected and sorted. Pre-consumer waste is often off-cuts from the production of other virgin papers or sawmill waste, which is essentially virgin pulp. In Australia, some of this comes from old-growth forests.
• Avoid papers made from plantation fibre from unknown sources. They’re likely to come from poorly managed plantations in Indonesia, Thailand or Brazil.

Computers:

• Monitors use most of the power when your computer is on. When you shut down your computer, make sure the monitor is off as well
• Don’t use screen savers because they often use more electricity. Instead, use sleep modes, which will save energy and protect the screen
• Laptops can use up to 90% less energy than desktop computers. Depending on your budget and the way you use computers, consider a laptop instead of a desktop computer
• Before leaving for work, remember to turn off the printer rather than leave it on stand-by
• Inkjet printers use up to 95% less energy than laser printers
• Save paper by using print preview functions to see whether you need to change some of the page set-up or layout.

Photocopiers:

• Photocopiers use huge amounts of energy, so choose the smallest size that will meet your needs.
• Choose photocopiers that can print double-sided
• Check that the photocopier you buy can use recycled-content copy paper
• Refill/reuse your printer cartridges (laser and inkjet) and toner bottles. They should not be sent to landfill as this both wastes the resources that were used to make them and contributes to pollution. Toner and ink can contain cadmium, carbon black and a range of other potentially hazardous materials.
• Order your own ‘Cartridges 4 Planet Ark’ program. They offer an easy, convenient and environmentally sound way for business to responsibly deal with empty printer cartridges.

Driving To Work:

• For those of us who don’t have an alternate to our car use to work(public transport or walking/cycling is always the better option), DRIVE SMOOTHLY! Don’t push your car too hard. In manual cars, move up through the gears with comfortable acceleration. Don’t drive in a higher or lower gear than necessary, as this wastes fuel. In both manual and automatic cars, try to maintain a steady speed and avoid rapid acceleration and deceleration, which guzzles petrol A European study showed that aggressive driving – fast acceleration from traffic lights and hard braking – reduced travel time by only 4%. This is equivalent to only 2.5 minutes out of a 60 minute trip, resulting in 57.5 minutes of stressful and somewhat dangerous driving. FACTS: every litre of petrol you save means 2.5 kg less carbon dioxide you’ve released into the atmosphere, which contributes to the greenhouse effect.
• Don’t speed: Slower driving is also greener driving. High speeds use a lot of extra fuel. At 110 km/h your car can use up to 25% more fuel than it would at 90 km/hr (Australian Greenhouse Office study).
• Don’t just sit there – stop idling! Many people needlessly waste petrol and produce a lot of pollution by leaving their engine running to warm up the car in winter. Once your car is running, the best way wo warm it up is to drive it! Late model cars with computer-controlled, fuel- injected engines don’t need more than 30 seconds of idling before driving in cold weather.
• Keep the tyres pumped up. Slightly flat tyres have increased resistance against the road, creating a slight drag on the car. This means that you need more fuel to go at the smae speed. It also reduces the life of the tyres. A single tyre under-inflated by 6psi can increase fuel consumption by 3% and take 10,000 km off the tyre’s life.
• Turn off the engine while stationary. If you’re in a traffic jam, and stopping for more than 10 seconds, turn your car off. You will save petrol, money, and pollution.
• Don’t put motor oil down the drain: recycle it! The Federal Department of Environment and Heritage has a ‘Product Stewardship for Oil’ program, which includes a directory of oil recyclers and collectors on their website at www.oilrecycling.gov.au, or ask your local council.

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