One Simple Thing | Go Paperless

Rebecca Wilson, passionate about recycling across South Yorkshire
Rebecca Wilson
19 Apr 2022

In the UK we use 9.9 million tonnes of paper each year. The trees needed to produce this would roughly be the size of Wales! Cutting down on the amount of paper we all use is one simple thing we can all do for the planet.

You don’t have to go fully paperless straight away, but our simple tips will help get you started:

Pile of paper. Image from Unsplash
  1. Think Before you print

It is estimated that the average UK office worker uses approximately 10,000 sheets of paper a year, and 75% of this ends up in the bin. So next time you are about to print something (both at home or at work), think about if it is completely necessary and if there is a digital alternative.

 

  1. Go digital

Most banks and utility companies now give you the option of paperless statements and billing now. This means instead of your statements and bills being sent in the post, they are digital versions (either by email or through your online account). This also makes it easy to store and organise them, and they can be easily downloaded.

 

  1. Receipts

Many shops are starting to give you the option of digital receipts now. These could be through email or through loyalty apps.

 

  1. Junk mail

There are some actions you can take to help stop junk mail coming through your letterbox.

Contact Royal Mail and tell them to stop delivering leaflets and brochures to your address. You can find details on how to do that here.

You can also register will the Mailing preference service (MPS) which will stop advertising materials addressed to you from coming through the letterbox. Find out more about this service here.

 

Find out why it is important to protect our planet

Know any more ways we can go paperless? Let us know on our social media pages

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