Governments must act to stop paper waste

NEW! Summary report on European governments' paper saving efforts.

Governments at all levels are in an excellent position to prevent wasteful paper use. The French Minister for the Environment recently set an inspiring example by pledging to cut French government's paper use by 50% and we are keen to see other governments follow this lead.

What governments can do

First of all, governments should tackle the use of paper within their own administrations. They can start by following the advice about reducing office paper consumption . A study by Xerox showed that almost half of all office paper is in the bin on the day it is used, so there is huge scope for cutting wasteful paper use in the office.

Secondly, governments should create policies that reward efficient paper use and regulate to penalise wasteful paper use by the wider society. Many governments have direct control over major paper users like universities and schools, health services and financial services, and they can create budget incentives for these organisations to encourage an end to paper waste.

Governments can also encourage businesses to reduce their consumption of paper. The Shrink project has been working with companies in the UK (see here) for the past year to prove that reducing paper consumption is good for the planet and good for business. 

And of course, governments can create laws and regulations that outlaw irresponsible paper consumption, for example by legislating to stop junk mail or excessive packaging.

What we are doing

The Shrink project is contacting all the national governments in Europe to find out which have policies to prevent wasteful paper consumption, and encouraging them all to address paper saving within their administrations. The results are here. Do not hesitate to contact us for more information or with examples of governments taking steps to cut paper waste.

What you can do

Write to your local government or your Member of Parliament or some other government representative to ask them how much paper their administration uses, how much money all that paper costs and what they are doing to reduce that paper use. Use the arguments here to explain why we all need to use less paper, and please let us know if you get a response.

Tips and tools for consuming less paper.

Advice for using less paper in offices.

Links to other websites with ideas about paper saving.

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