BSchulzePaperBSchultzeBSchulzePaperReducing Paper Usage at Smith College Barbara Schulze Smith College EVS300 May 5, 2003 1Abstract Smith College, as an educational institution, uses a considerable amount of paper. A significant portion of this consumption, however, is unnecessary. This study focused on needless printing from computers. Based on the testimony of computer lab consultants, thousands of sheets of paper are wasted daily college-wide. Efforts to reduce paper usage at four other colleges were investigated. Smith College can adopt more sustainable paper use practices by installing computer printers with duplexing capabilities, charging for printing, educating students and staff about printing options, announcing events electronically, and purchasing copy paper with significant post- consumer content. Introduction The paper manufacturing industry has had a major impact on the environment. It uses four percent of the world’s energy, making the industry the fifth largest energy consumer (Abramovitz & Mattoon, 1999). Ten kilowatts per hour is required to produce one ream of paper (Stein, 1997). Twenty percent of all wood harvested is used for making paper. The destruction of trees leads to soil erosion and species loss. Air pollutants such as nitrous oxide, sulfur oxide, and carbon dioxide are released during the paper making process, which contribute to acid rain and global warming. The bleaching process sends toxic chemicals like dioxins and chloroform into water supplies. The paper industry uses more water per ton of product than any other industry (Abramovitz & Mattoon, 1999). The transportation of lumber and finished paper products further contributes to pollution and energy consumption. 2Worldwide paper consumption has risen steadily despite the increased availability of computers. In 1997, the world used 299 million tons of paper, which is six times the 1950 level. The United States leads all other countries in paper consumption (see Figure 1). Recycling efforts have caused growth in the contribution of recovered paper to the global fiber supply: from 20% in 1961 to 38% in 1997. Paper consumption, however, has increased so rapidly that it has overtaken gains made by recycling (Abramovitz & Mattoon, 1999). The objectives of this study were to discover areas of unnecessary paper use at Smith College and to suggest alternatives for reducing paper use. Strategies employed by other colleges to reduce their paper use, have contributed to the recommendations herein that can help Smith College employ more sustainable paper use practices. Methodology To determine where most paper is used at Smith College, I obtained paper delivery figures for the past two years from Central Receiving and calculated usage per building. I entered this data into the Geologic Information System’s campus map to provide a visual image of campus paper use patterns. I visited the computer labs that used the most paper and interviewed the lab consultants. They eagerly shared with me numerous stories of frivolous printing that they have witnessed. I contacted Amherst College, Mount Holyoke College, Hampshire College, and Sacred Heart University to find out what efforts these institutions have implemented to reduce paper consumption on their campuses. I then considered the feasibility of some of 33 4these practices for Smith. I also investigated recent efforts at Smith College to reduce paper waste. Results Last year Smith’s Central Receiving Department delivered over 15 million sheets of unprinted paper to various buildings around campus (Table 1). These numbers do not include the significant amount of paper that was printed off-campus. For instance, 196,000 sheets of stationery were used by the college in fiscal year 2002. A report on paper usage compiled by Joanne McMullin’s students in Environmental Science and Policy at Smith College estimates that each Smith students and staff use almost 5000 sheets of paper each year. The distribution of paper delivered by Central Services can be seen in the campus map entitled “Paper Usage 2001-2003.” The buildings with the highest levels of paper consumption were Central Services (8670 reams), College Hall (5780 reams), Seelye Hall (4913 reams), Clark Science Center (4634 reams), Neilson Library (4176 reams), and Wright Hall (3552 reams). Central Services is a print shop on campus that does photocopying for competitive prices. There has recently been a good deal of attention paid to the amount of paper wasted on flyer distribution on campus. In honor of Earth Day, the Smith community was encouraged to abstain from distributing flyers during the week of April 21-26, 2003. Announcements were posted electronically, or could be publicized through sidewalk chalk messages, posters, or table tents. Since Gaia (a student organization), the 5Table 1: Paper Usage at Smith College from 3/1/02-3/1/03. Unit = ream (500 sheets) ProductName Units Sold Sheets Paper 3 Hole Drill White 86 43,000Paper 8.5x11 Blue 142 71,000Paper 8.5x11 Canary 257 128,500Paper 8.5x11 Cherry 45 22,500Paper 8.5x11 Goldenrod 70 35,000Paper 8.5x11 Green 199 99,500Paper 8.5x11 Orchid 84 42,000Paper 8.5x11 Pink 73 36,500Paper 8.5x11 Tan 31 15,500Paper Computer Alt Green Bar SC-10 7 5600Paper Computer White Letter Stock 25 67,500Paper Copier 8.5x11 29,051 14,525,500Paper Copier 8.5x14 122 61,000Paper Generic Letterhead/Rolland 7 3500Paper Strathmore 20# / Watermarked 6 3000Paper Strathmore 24# / Watermarked 0 0Paper Rolland Motif 34 17,000Paper 11X17 22 11,000Total 15,187,600 Source: Central Receiving. 03/26/03 Environmental Science and Policy Program, and MassPIRG are making progress on this issue, I didn’t pursue it further. 6Computer lab consultants eagerly shared stories with me about the frivolous printing practices of students. It is not rare, they said, for students to print the complete course catalogue or to print entire web sites filling hundreds of sheets of paper. In Neilson Library there are 17 printers available for public use, free of charge. Although signs are posted stating a 50-page limit on printing, many users print considerably more than that. For example, one day I noticed a 250-page document sitting unclaimed next to a printer. The printers in Young Science Library spit out a blank sheet or two at the end of each