Did you know that paper occupies 70% of our landfills? Yes, this is a very inconvenient truth and what's more inconvenient is the fact that paper can take more than half a decade to decompose when it is thrown in landfills.
As a matter of fact, a newspaper that has been published during the 1960's can even be read up till today if it is put and trashed in a landfill.
Did you also know that schools are one of the biggest "paper spenders"?This is a known fact and we can't deny it.
So how do you help conserve our planet by not filling our landfills with paper? Here are some suggestions for the academic world: 1.
Go easy on paper.
Print only what you need to print.
This goes to offices who spend a lot of paper printing documents which may have been otherwise reviewed and edited on the computer via transmission of soft copies.
For instance, if you are a teacher and you want your exam to be approved and edited by the dean, you can send your boss the softcopy of your exam and when it is edited and reviewed, then that's when you have it printed for multiple reproduction.
2.
Use online fax.
Instead of using big old traditional fax machines, why not subscribe to online fax instead? Online fax is fast, cheap and very convenient.
Online fax harnesses the power of the internet to send and receive fax messages using your email system.
Since it is done via the internet, then it is faster and more reliable.
No more paper jams, inks, toners.
And of course, you can choose which documents should be printed and which are not.
3.
Require your students to submit their assignments using recycled paper.
This does not mean, of course, that they have to create their own recycled paper for their assignment.
A recycled paper can be an old photocopy or any other paper who has a print on the other side.
You can have your students write their assignment on the blank page or the other side.
4.
Put a "paper box" in every classroom or along the hallway.
This box will be especially for trash or garbage that is made of paper.
Every Friday or Wednesday (or any other day of the week), the paper boxes are emptied and the paper that is collected should be dropped off to the nearest recycling facility where each paper will be de-molecularized and manufactured into a new sheet of paper.
5.
Encourage a paper drive.
Have various student organizations participate in the paper drive and make it seem like a contest.
Each organization will be encouraged to donate old papers and this will be collected every Friday.
During this day, the papers will be weighed and anyone who reaches at least 5 kilos gets one point.
At the end of the school year, the group who has the highest score will be provided with incentives.