Ways to Reduce Paper Waste in Your Business

Did you know that the average office worker uses 10,000 sheets of copy paper each year? That’s just one of many shocking paper-waste facts cited by The Paperless Project. Paper waste has a measurable impact on business profit, productivity and the health of our planet. Here are several ways to reduce paper waste in your business.

Think Before Printing

Reducing paper waste starts at your printer. Always think twice before printing important documents, and encourage team members to do the same. You can reduce your paper costs and help the environment by viewing and sending documents electronically whenever possible.

Scan Your Most Active Records

Document scanning reduces paper waste and eliminates the need to print documents by converting your active business records to digital files. When professionally imaged, your documents are indexed specifically to your workflow requirements and stored online with an image solution so they can be reviewed and distributed from any location at any time.

Purge Unneeded and Redundant Documents

Besides harming the environment, paper waste also exposes your company to identity theft and business fraud. If you have expired or redundant documents collecting dust in your office, consider using a professional shredding and destruction service to help purge them securely. A screened shredding specialist collects your expired records and, based on your preference, either shreds your documents on-site while you watch or transports them to a shredding plant for secure destruction. You should receive a Certificate of Destruction when your documents are destroyed.

Make Shredding a Habit

While a document purge helps get rid of accumulated paper waste, scheduled shredding prevents it from building up in the first place. A shredding service eliminates the privacy risks of using an office shredder and enables confidential files to be disposed of quickly. Secure shredding collection containers delivered to your business allow documents and whole files to be dropped through the slot in a matter of seconds without having to remove staples, paper clips or even folders. On a weekly or monthly basis, your containers are emptied and the contents are professionally destroyed.

Recycle Securely

Recycled paper isn’t always shredded before it’s sent to a paper mill which can cause a privacy breach. As a result, it’s important to make sure that your document shredding partner completely destroys your information before recycling it. Documents should first be shredded into small, unreadable pieces. Only after they are completely destroyed should your documents be baled and shipped to a paper recycling plant. The right shredding and destruction provider will follow this process when recycling your paper waste.

Reducing paper waste saves your business time and money and contributes to a healthier planet.

Records Management Center offers document storage, shredding and imaging services for businesses throughout Augusta, Evans, Thomson, and Martinez, GA, plus Aiken, SC and the Central Savannah River Area. For more information, please contact us by phone or complete the form on this page.