Printing in the home office: How to save paper at home

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Much more people than before are working from home.

Time for new habits - also when it comes to environmentally friendly behavior.

How about saving paper?

Paper is a resource-intensive product, explains Almut Reichart from the Federal Environment Agency.

It takes a lot of water, wood, chemicals and energy to make it.

Paper consumption in this country has decreased in the past two years because less graphic paper, for example for printing, is used, says Friederike Farsen from the North Rhine-Westphalia consumer center.

"For years that was the main amount of paper used in Germany."

Now packaging is the paper garbage driver because more and more is being bought online and packed in paper instead of plastic.

From a global perspective, however, Germany still consumes too much paper per capita.

Print only the bare essentials

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If you want to save paper in your home office, the same golden rule as in the company office should apply: only print what is absolutely needed on paper.

And make yourself a habit of reading more on your computer, cell phone or tablet, advises Farsen.

In any case, so many processes have now been digitized that not everything has to be printed out for a long time.

E-mails are sent to large distribution lists for information, invoices are sent electronically, and most documents can be archived locally or on hard drives.

And many have long since replaced the little mess of paper with digital post-its, note-taking and list apps.

Recycled paper with the Blue Angel

If private or professional things have to be printed in the home office, it is most likely less environmentally friendly than in modern offices, believes Reichart.

Your home printer may not be able to automatically print on both sides - if it does, you should activate and use so-called duplex printing.

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In addition, the paper used at home may not be the most environmentally friendly.

According to the experts, that would be a good starting point.

You should buy recycled paper without being impressed by the wide variety of labels.

Reichart and Farsen simply recommend paper with the Blue Angel.

It is the most demanding environmental label for the paper sector, explains Reichart.

It guarantees that the paper fibers are completely obtained from waste paper and that no harmful chemicals or problematic colorants are used.

No longer gray and dusty

"It also contains parts of lower and medium-sized types of waste paper, which are produced in large quantities in Germany," says Farsen.

This also includes the waste paper that is collected in households.

Lower and medium-sized types of waste paper mean that although these variants can be recycled, more effort has to be made in sorting and processing.

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In addition, paper with the Blue Angel can be recycled again after use.

Incidentally, it is no longer gray, stiff and dusty as it used to be - on the contrary.

Papers with the Blue Angel would have to comply with a certain standard.

This guarantees optimal running properties on copiers and printers.

Use paper several times

Reichart advises those who want to do something good for the environment also use blank backs of paper, regardless of the form.

Be it as scratch paper or just to reprint

If you have children, you can give them paper printed on one side to draw on.

Or the paper can still be used as a shopping list if you don't already use a list app for it.

Scraps of paper could also be used as bookmarks.

If something is printed out from the network, you should be careful to remove pictures if they are not needed at all in order to save paper.

In addition, the following applies: reduce the spacing and use a font size that is as small as possible, although still legible.

All of this also applies to e-mails, for which you can often save yourself having to print the signatures.

What goes into the blue bin

Incidentally, used office paper belongs in the waste paper or in the blue bin.

Other paper products such as kitchen towels, handkerchiefs, serviettes and damp tissues, on the other hand, end up in the residual waste, explains consumer advocate Farsen.

And if someone at home does not want to do without post-it notes in favor of apps & Co, the following may be good to know: The post-it notes are now also made from recycled paper.

And on the computer, as always, the following applies: First think whether it is really necessary and only then print

Source: dpa-tmn