Green and Recycled Office Products,
An Eco-Friendly Alternative

To acheive a stable-state or sustainable economy that we can pass on to future generations, we must cut consumption of virgin materials in our everyday lives. Steps we take toward a renewable and "green" economy around the house should not stop there. Bringing our demand for recycled and refurbished products to our office and workplace is the next step in building a sustainable society.

In the office, there are many ways to go green. We can save paper by printing on both sides, or setting our printers to "duplex printing" mode. We can use recycled paper with as high a post-consumer waste product percentage as possible. When we use a high percentage of post-consumer recycled content we're ensuring that we make the most demand possible for more recycling, and obviously use the least amount of virgin materials in the process.

Office machinery can easily be purchased from many manufacturers and retailers. In the same way recycled products reduce consumption, refurbished products reduce the amount of materials needed for products we use in the office. Copiers, Computers, Laptops, Cellphones, PDA's, Fax Machines, Scanners, you name it - there are places to buy refurbished models, and at a lower cost than brand-new items.

We can use refurbished or refilled printer and copier inkjet and toner cartridges also. Most printer refill retailers and distributors offer refilled cartridges, while some even offer kits for you to refill these items on your own. Others will refill your cartridges for you if you wish to send them in. Many brick-and-mortar outlets also offer printer or toner cartridge refills onsite - usually at a fraction of the cost of the new version of the same cartridge!