Paper conservation at ANU

Paper recycling — one step in the paper chain

One environmental impact that allows individuals to make a real difference is the area of paper use. In the year 2004, over 76 thousand reams or 38 million sheets of copy paper were consumed at the University. This is approximately 2600 sheets per person per year. Of this, 41,800 reams were made from non-recycled material. As this paper is made from virgin fibre, the environmental impact of this consumption is significant — for instance, 2 trees are used for every 100 reams of paper. The pulp to make this paper comes from plantation and non-plantation sources (i.e. native forests). You can do your bit by using less paper, recycling paper and purchasing recycled paper.

How you can help

• Use scrap paper for drafts and notes
  By reusing scrap paper for drafts and notes, you can help minimise paper waste and cut down on the number of notepads you need to buy.
• Double side and reduce when photocopying & printing
  Cut down on the number of pages you print by printing double-sided and printing multiple pages on one sheet.
• Recycle paper (and other waste)
• Use environmentally responsible paper (where practical)