General Statistics

The use of paper is a direct contributor to the harm of the environment via the destruction of one of our most wonderful natural resources -- trees.

• Paper is the number one material that is thrown away
• For every 45 Kg of trash we throw away, 16 Kg is paper
• As paper decomposes in landfills or is burned in incinerators, chemicals from its inks are released into the environment
• We cut down three to six billion trees a year
• It takes one 15-year old tree to produce half a box of paper

Paper Consumption Statistics

• The United States wastes approximately 340 Kg of paper a year... per person
  • That would be approximately one tree per person
• One tree provides enough oxygen to support three people
• The amount of wood and paper we throw away per year is enough to heat 50 million homes for 20 years

Now that you know a little bit of the math, don't you want to know a few ways to stop using 340 Kgs of paper a year?

Paper Recycling

Paper recycling is the process of recovering waste paper and remaking it into new paper products. The main types of paper in everyday use that can be recycled are:

• Office white paper
• Newspapers, magazines, telephone directories and pamphlets
• Cardboard
• Mixed or colored paper
• Computer print out paper

Did you Know?

AUB encourages paper recycling and makes it very easy for departments and faculties to recycle office paper. Get your paper recycling bin from Custodial Services by calling them at extension 2051 and START RECYCLING!

Going Green

It is not simply a matter of cutting down on paper. It is a matter of changing our habits, opening our minds and going completely paperless.

References:
Topic Sites - Save the Environment! Paper Usage Statistics
TechSoup - Paper Shocking Statistics
Waste Online

Below are some general tips for instructors, students and administrators to start saving paper with the help of technology:

• Use MOODLE to deliver course material instead of printing out copies to students
• Train yourself to read as much as possible on your computer screen. Our natural inclination is to print a document to read it, as we are used to a paper-based world
• Use the Track Changes functions in the Word processor to highlight and comment within digital documents on your screen instead of printing the documents and writing your comments by hand
• Use flash drives to transport documents home or to other work sites
• Use email and Messenger to communicate electronically and reduce paper flow
• Use an electronic copy of agendas at staff meetings and other meetings. Use a laptop for note taking
• Prior to meetings, send out reports via email to avoid making multiple copies
• Prepare online forms instead of printed forms. Results from online forms can be sent to any email address
• If feasible, use digital pens for writing. Digital pens automatically transform your hand-writing into digital documents

If you REALLY have to print, then:

• Extend the margins on documents to reduce the amount of printed paper
• Use print preview before printing any document to be sure that the document looks the way you want
• Turn off cover sheets and blank pages. If each of your print jobs comes out with a cover sheet, consider turning cover sheets off if possible
• Use ‘Pages Per Sheet’ feature. This feature reduces paper consumption by allowing you to print up to 16 pages per sheet of paper per side. For example, it is possible to print a 48 page document using only 6 pieces of paper
• Set your computer’s printer default to double-sided. This will decrease your paper consumption by half
• Use scrap paper! Cut up scrap paper into notepads and keep one handy

• Upload your syllabus to Moodle for students to view online. There is no need to print and distribute it. Any update you make to the syllabus will be instantly available for them
  • Use a projector in your first class meeting to go over the syllabus with your students
  • Create a short assessment in Moodle about the syllabus content to ensure that students have reviewed it
• Have the course outline, lectures and resources such as PowerPoint presentations and PDFs available on Moodle. This provides easily accessible and constantly available copies of any information students need to complete their coursework
• Save all course content like Word Documents, PowerPoint presentations, Excel documents in a printable format to reduce paper
• Ask your students to submit assignments through Moodle. You, in turn, can correct student submissions directly in Moodle
  • Comments can be added to students’ paper assignments using Track Changes in Microsoft Word
  • Feedback can be given directly through Moodle
• Go paperless with midterm and final exams. Exams can be administered at computer labs, saving time, effort and paper. They can be graded automatically so you don’t have to waste time sifting through mile-high stacks of paper exams
  

Green Tips on saving paper.

• Print on both sides of the paper
• Print more than one paper per sheet
• Set your margins
• Comment inline and track changes
• Fit content to page
• Use Page Break Preview
• Choose your page orientation
• Use the Print Preview
• Print handouts and slides efficiently

PrintWhatYouLike: "Save Money. Save the Environment. Tired of printing web pages only to find your printout is full of ads, empty space and other junk you don't want? PrintWhatYouLike is a free online editor that lets you format any web page for printing in seconds!

Diigo: “Diigo (dee'go) offers a powerful personal tool and a rich social platform for knowledge users, and in the process, turns the entire web into a writable, participatory and interactive media. The social annotation service introduced by Diigo allows users to add highlights and sticky notes, on any web page they read. Imagine a giant transparency overlaying on top of all the web pages. Users can write on the transparency as they wish, as private notes or public comments. And they can read public comments on the transparency left by other readers of the same page, and hear their "two cents" and interact with them”.

The article “Why Universities are Going Green” by Amy Mclellan, published on “The Independent” website on the 16th of August 2007, states that Higher Education “institutions are making serious changes to do their bit for the environment”. Universities are at an advantage over other organizations because they can rely on in-house research and expertise to implement environmentally friendly policies.

Educational institutions all over the world are on the path of becoming carbon neutral. Below are a few universities who have come a long way in helping our environment:

• Harvard University
  • "This Ivy Leaguer began a Green Campus Initiative in 2000 and has continued to grow its green roots since then”
• University of British Columbia
  • “A leader in the greening of Canadian campuses, UBC adopted a sustainable development policy in 1997 and a year later opened a campus Sustainability Office -- both firsts for the nation's colleges”
• Tufts University
  • “Tufts is getting tough on climate change. It has committed to meeting or exceeding the Kyoto target for emissions reductions”
• Leeds University
  • “The U.K.'s second-largest university, Leeds is a leader in eco-friendly waste management”
• Yale University
  • “Yale President Richard Levin wants to make his school the greenest in the U.S”
• Glasgow University
  • “The first Scottish university to get energy-efficiency accreditation in 1998”
• Middlebury College
  • “This Vermont college is a hotbed of climate activism”

Reference:
Grist - 15 Green Colleges and Universities

In order to reduce paper consumption and to centralize the information, most departments are using a plasma screen to publish news, events, announcements. The screen is located at the entrance of the department accessible to students, faculty, and visitors.