The Recycle for Cornwall campaign has been developed to raise public awareness of recycling and to provide consumers with a compelling reason to recycle.
The term “paperless office” has been around since the 1970s and was mainly used as a publicist slogan to predict the redundancy of paper in view of increasing technology. In reality, the improvement of desktop printing led to an increase in paper usage as people were able to print out documents cheaply and easily, but now the trend is reversing.
Whether you have the luxury of your own office at home or you have to fit the bank statements and bills into folders behind the kids’ toy box we all go through lots of paperwork at home particularly if you are one of the estimated 40,000 Cornish residents who are self employed.
Many companies now allow you to carry out all transactions online whether it is banking, paying bills, or reviewing your statements; you can even renew your tax disc on line. This coupled with an organised filing system on your computer will reduce the need to print out records and keep paper copies.
Think about your furnishings. It is possible to get office furniture that has been made from a wide range of recycled or eco-friendly products such as recycled plastics, recycled paper and ecowheat; eliminating the harvesting of trees. You can even get computer monitors, keyboards and a mouse made from bamboo rather than plastics. Bamboo is fast growing and harvesting the crop does not cause the problems that tree harvesting can cause.
When buying IT equipment, make sure you do your research and purchase a model that will meet all your needs and can be easily updated; this will save you money and avoid you having to go through the process again too soon. Small actions can also make a difference; setting your printer to print in draft quality and printing on both sides of the paper could halve your paper and ink consumption. Ink cartridges can also be refilled or recycled when empty.
Realistically, even if you have reduced your paper use through using your computer or using both sides of the paper you will still have paper waste which you can recycle but you might also have shredded paper from confidential waste, this waste can be then be recycled with your normal paper, composted in your compost bin or even used as bedding for pet rabbits or hamsters!
When stocking your home office with stationery, consider buying recycled, you will find it is just as good quality and many of the products are more fun than the standard biro! Take a look at our products list for ideas.
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Reuse envelopes where possible and make sure all the ones you can’t reuse get recycled.
Many companies now allow you to carry out all transactions online whether it is banking, paying bills, or reviewing your statements; you can even renew your tax disc on line. This coupled with an organised filing system on your computer will reduce the need to print out records and keep paper copies. 
Realistically, even if you have reduced your paper use through using your computer or using both sides of the paper you will still have paper waste which you can recycle but you might also have shredded paper from confidential waste, this waste can be then be recycled with your normal paper, composted in your compost bin or even used as bedding for pet rabbits or hamsters!