How can I make our copy shop "greener"?

January 16, 2009 5:11 PM

How can I make our copy shop "greener"?

We already use 100% post-consumer paper and turn our 1-sided recycled paper into bound notebooks. What other cool things could we do to make our paper store more sustainable and environmentally friendly?

posted by nothingsconstant to work & money (6 comments total)

what machines are you running? do you run three shifts? how energy conscious are you? i'm guessing you already recycle all your waste paper and toner, fuser oil, and waste toner containers.
posted by ashabanapal at 7:24 PM on January 16

we have 8 Canon 5095 copiers, 2 canon 7085 printers, 1 canon colour printer, and another canon w8500 wideformat. We're open 8am - 8pm through the week. We're energy conscious as much as possible (turn all machines off at night, turn some off when the day is slow, and use energy saver mode when not in use) and do recycle everything you've mentioned save the fuser oil.
posted by nothingsconstant at 7:39 PM on January 16

what about selling your stacks of used paper to local art students for cheap? i'd buy it.
posted by big open mouth at 10:42 PM on January 16

If your area doesn't already have a convenient system for recycling electronic waste, you might consider putting out a few labeled bins for used ink cartridges, old computers, light bulbs, batteries, etc., and then take the results to wherever your shop usually recycles things. And let people know that when they go to purchase your services, they can bring and recycle the stuff that would otherwise get left in drawers or thrown in the regular trash.
posted by dreamyshade at 11:05 PM on January 16

You could check through your waste to work out the most common causes of errors, and see if you can change your operating procedures to reduce error rates.

If you have several employees you could set up a car pool scheme.
posted by Mike1024 at 3:01 AM on January 17

An energy audit would look at the energy efficiency of your lighting, heating, water use, insulation, etc. You might even be able to make some savings on operating costs.

Make sure you've got adequate storage and showering facilities for people who want to ride their bikes to work.

Dreamyshade's idea about letting your customers and staff give you their electronic waste to be recycled in bulk is great - there's never enough places to do this where I live.

Our work is considering getting a compost bin or worm farm for our lunchtime kitchen scraps - the compost could be put on our garden area around the entrance.
posted by harriet vane at 8:32 PM on January 17