15 Ways to Save Money + Green Up Your Office

One of the smartest things you can do for your office is green it up. You'll end up saving energy and material costs, not to mention feeling better. Here are things you can do right now to get it going.

Paper Products

• Always buy recycled: Most major office retailers offer recycled copy and printing paper.   Staples 
has 100% recycled copy paper which is not bleached with chlorine, and costs only a fraction more 
than the traditional stuff. You may notice that recycled paper is not as blindingly white as its new-
produced counterparts, but that incremental difference in tone prevents thousands of gallons of 
pollution from entering our environment.

• Print on both sides. It seems so simple, but you’ll halve your waste paper output, and save money 
in the bargain.

• Recycle every last scrap. Keep a catch-all beside or beneath your desk to hold all your waste 
paper, including paper and cardboard packaging for other office supplies like pens and ink 
cartridges. You can even recycled shredded paper; although it can’t go out on the curb, it can 
usually be dropped off in the paperboard area. Check with your local recycling facility for details.

• Reuse filing folders, envelopes, and other paper storage.  A new label can make an old manila file 
folder like new again.  

• Avoid PVC: Polyvinyl Chloride (a.k.a. vinyl, #3 plastics) is used in many office products, including 3-
ring binders, clipboards, even mouse pads. But the fumes it emits contain phthalates, dioxins, 
and mercury, and have been linked to birth defects, cancer, and reproductive ailments. When 
shopping for new file storage, choose metal over toxic PVC plastics, or recycle old appliance or 
electronics boxes into file storage.

• Reuse Your Reminders: Instead of sticky notes or memo pads, consider a dry-erase board for your 
‘notes to self’.  Mount it on a wall where you can see it clearly.  If you’re really attached to your 
post-its, just make sure that each little square finds its way into your recycling bin.

Pens and pencils

• Pens cannot yet be recycled, so buy refillable fountain or ball-point pens. Again, seems simple, 
but you’ll literally save pounds of plastic per year by tossing only those little ink cartridges and 
not the whole pen.

• Using refillable automatic pencils helps to save trees, and can save you money.

• Indulge; purchase a nice set of writing tools, or give one as a gift. They’re fun to write with, use 
very little plastic, and are a great incentive to use refills.

Printer cartridges

• Many big-box office supply stores have refilling and recycling programs for ink-jet and laser 
cartridges. Bring in your old cartridges for a discount on your purchase. If your local office supply 
store doesn’t offer recycling, ask how to get your cartridges refilled.

• If your company doesn’t participate in recycling programs, call your city or county recycling facility 
for information about how to dispose of cartridges properly: they shouldn’t be mixed in with the 
rest of your trash.


Batteries

• Every year, Americans alone throw away 180,000 tons of batteries, and many of them end up in 
landfills, leaching heavy metals and caustic chemicals into our soil and groundwater. Don't just 
toss your batteries in the garbage: check with your local recycling or hazardous waste facility for 
information about how to dispose of them properly. Some batteries - like rechargables - can be 
recycled: consider investing in this variety. For more information, check out Earth 911’s articles on 
battery recycling.

Other office supplies

• Paper clips and binder clips can be reused indefinitely. Make sure to remove them and return 
them to their home before tossing those papers in the recycling bin.

• CDs and floppy discs can, and should, be recycled. Call your recycling facility for more information, 
or visit GreenDisk: they recycle all kinds of office supplies, and their Techotrash Cans – techno-
waste receptacles that double as shipping containers – are great to have around.  They also 
retail office supplies made from the items they recycle.

• Shipping and address labels can be a big waste of paper. Most newer word processing software 
programs allow you to print addresses right on your envelopes.
• 
Little changes can make a big difference. And you'll feel good about helping the earth when you green 
up

Candita Clayton is the founder of Your Life Organized and author of Clean Your Home Healthy. Visit her online, here.