Simple gestures can start with the smallest of household items. In this case, your office stationary and supplies!
And how much of these are made of plastic and non recyclable materials? Almost everything! This incrementally adds a BIG contribution to our environmental footprint, and each little piece down to the tiny spring in a pen all add up. It is time to minimise and clean up our office supplies. It was only until recently that these items were sent straight to our ever growing landfills, but thankfully there are some very cool recycling programs out there that repurpose such items (through companies like Terracycle). Despite this though, the bigger piece of the puzzle is switching to more environmental alternatives and overall, buying less! So, before you buy next time, consider more sustainable stationary options, such as wooden pencils for writing, pencil highlighters, recycled paper, refillable ink pens and more. Apply this same approach to gift cards and wrapping paper and you’ll be all over it in no time!
Action steps:
1. Before heading to the store, start by assessing your current office supplies and gauge exactly what you need. This will prevent overspending and over consuming.
2. Search your stationery shop for the environmental alternatives, like the items listed above. If they don’t have what you are looking for, pop it in a search engine (remember if buying online preference a local supplier first!)
3. Before clicking the pay button, go through the mental checklist: Does it come in a plastic wrapper? Is it made locally? What material was required to make it? These will inform the items you purchase, and will help you commit to finding the most environmental option.
4. With used and empty stationary, check online for a recycling program (Options such as this one). If there isn’t one available, look for opportunities to upcycle or let it be your inspiration to buy more sustainable alternatives going forward!
