Reduction Strategies

Frequently Asked Questions

REDUCE

BUY GREEN

RECYCLING AND OTHER QUESTIONS

REDUCE

1. What can I reduce?

City of Seattle agencies used 73.9 million sheets of copier/ printer paper in 2003. All of us can reduce our use of white copy paper by printing or copying on both sides, thinking about our needs before pushing PRINT, and filing documents electronically rather than printing and filing hard copies.

2. How do I use paper more efficiently and still do my job?

• RETHINK YOUR PAPER USE
• Do you really need to print this e-mail, report, flyer, or draft?
• Can you save it onto your network drive or a disk instead?
• Can the documents be sent and shared electronically instead of by exchanging paper?
• Is the information available on-line?
• If you need information later, will be able to get it from the person who sent it?
• If you must print, can you duplex?
• If you print information for the public, is your mailing list up to date?
• Can you work with your printer/mailing house to better target your mailings?
• Do you have an email list for those who prefer email to paper mail?
• Many more ideas are available at The Paper Smart Office.
• There are also some terrific tips at The Printless Program at the University of Delaware.
• Use "print preview"
• Use the Print Preview function to view your format before printing. It allows you the option to go back before printing to eliminate blank pages, reformat margins, or choose multiple pages per sheet,
• For more tips on using your computer more efficiently and using Print Preview to save paper check out The Printless Program at the University of Delaware.
• REUSE

3. What can I re-use?

• Use the back side already printed paper to give paper a second chance. Handy for drafts and internal documents.
• See Testimonials for "Using the Blank Side".
• Maps and flip charts can be turned over and reused.
• Use a white board at a meeting for displaying agenda and notes.

4. Why should I care about using less paper?

• Saving paper saves money, water and energy.
• In the U.S., the pulp and paper industry is the second largest consumer of energy and uses more water to produce a ton of product than any other industry. Federal Network for Sustainability Paper Campaign. (See Federal Network for Sustainability Paper Campaign)
• We are all in this together. Mayor Nickels has directed all departments in an Executive Order to reduce paper use by 15% in 2005 and another 15% in 2006. Every action to save paper by each employee will make a difference.

5. How do I set my printer and copier to default to duplex?

Printer: If you are not sure l if a printer is capable of printing double-sided, contact your IT Help Desk (or DoIT Service Desk at 6-1212). They will help you determine if it is duplex-ready. If your printer doesn't duplex, ask IT to help you locate and install a duplex compatible printer so your print jobs can be printed two-sided.

To default to duplex, set the printer preferences. Do this by:

• Clicking on 'start' and selecting 'Printers and Faxes'. A window will appear that lists all of the printers available to you.
• Right click on the printer that you want to set to duplex.
• Select 'Printing Preferences' from the menu that appears. At this point, you may have to do a little looking around, but you should see an option for 'Print on Both Sides' or something similar. Select it. This should set duplex on for all programs. As with any other computer issue, call the Service Desk at 6-1212 if you have any problems.

Copier: To make two-sided copies from copy machines you can select either of the two following options:

• If your original is one-sided, select 1:2 so that the single sides will be copied on both sides of the blank paper, creating a two sided document.
• If your original is two sided, select 2:2 so that both sides will be copied onto both sides of the blank paper.

Note: Employee education is a must. No matter what change you make, any setting or new default on your copier will require some thought. Everyone needs to be conscious when using electronic equipment. Recommendations vary according to the needs of each department, but if you are printing most of your documents double-sided, it may work well to default your copier to 2:2 (two-sided to two-sided).

6. How can I electronically store email and other documents?

• Each City employee has a personal space on the network H: drive. To find it, click File, Save As, and click the down arrow on the save in: box and click on your last name and first initial (eg. Smitha) which will bring up a list including 'My Documents'. Click on My Documents and save the email to a folder named for the project, issue or person the document is from. Make sure you name the document with a title that makes sense to you, for easier retrieval.
  
  If you decide to store documents electronically instead of printing them, look at Bits and Bytes About Electronic Records, or for more information contact the City Records Management Program at 684-8154 or via email.

7. How can I use "print preview"?

• Look at Print Preview to verify your format before printing.
• Eliminate blank pages in Excel or tons of unwanted info from the Web.
• Reformat margins to save paper and print multiple images on one sheet.
• For more tips on using your computer more efficiently and using Print Preview to save paper check out The Printless Program at the University of Delaware.

BUY GREEN

8. I do not purchase paper so how can I make sure my department purchases 100% recycled paper?

• All departments are required to purchase paper stock from the City warehouse, which will stock the 100% recycled copy paper for us.
• Department Directors have the paper reduction goal in their accountability agreements with the Mayor for 2005.
• Ask the person who orders paper in your office if they are purchasing 100% recycled paper from the warehouse.
• Fleets and Facilities provides Quarterly Usage Reports so you can see how your department is progressing towards the 15% reduction goal.

9. Does 100% recycled paper work in our printers and copiers?

• Yes! Please see the 100% Recycle Content Paper testimonials.

RECYCLING AND OTHER QUESTIONS

• First Reduce, second buy green, and finally, recycle. Let's be the leaders in recycling in the city and recycle our well-used paper appropriately. We can meet the Mayor's 60% recycling goal, be an example to our citizens, and move our used paper back into the recycling stream. Thanks!

11. What part is required? How does the Executive Order impact me?

• What is required of each of us is this: reduce paper use by 15% in 2005 and an additional 15% in 2006, buy and use 100% recycled paper from the FFD Warehouse, and recycle your paper.

12. Who can I contact if I have questions? Can someone come to speak to my division about this? How can I get involved with the Paper Waste Campaign?

• The Paper Waste Prevention Campaign Team members are listed on this website in About the Team. If someone in your department is already participating on the team, call them with questions. If your department doesn't have a representative, contact one of our Team Leads or the Project Coordinator.
• Department Directors have received two briefings about the Paper Waste Prevention Campaign in the Mayor's cabinet.
• Our website has a wealth of resources, including a presentation, Campaign Rationale, and many web links for how - to's. We welcome your involvement in making this initiative a success!

13. How will my IT group support this?

• IT Managers have been kept informed regarding the progress of the Paper Waste Campaign, and several departments are ready to roll out printer improvements with the Executive Order.
• Should you need help with print preview, setting a printer to duplex or any other computer related issue, call the DoIT Service Desk at 386-1212 or send them an e-mail at DoITHelp.