Stop Junk Mail. Be Eco Friendly. Do Good. The GreenDimes Blog

Eco Tip: Green Printing

Did you know?

• In 2004 the United States used 8 million tons of office paper. That’s equivalent to 178 million trees!
• In the U.S. we have lost 95% of our old growth forests and 4281 acres of rainforest are lost every hour worldwide
• Global paper products consumption has tripled over the past 3 decades and is expected to grow by half before 2010.

If you’re like me, you know the frustration of printing a document or a Web page only to waste 1-3 pieces of paper. When I have the time, I have resorted to copying and pasting the information I need into a Word document before I print just to avoid this innocent yet harmful act. GreenPrint provides a really cool software solution and they even have a free version.  You can download it onto to your computer to help you eliminate those pesky extra pages that result from printing. It detects wasted pages (for example, a page with only one line of text on it) and deletes it from your print file.  Of course, you are in complete control over the process deciding if you want to print the page in question.  They also have an option to turn the desired page into a PDF, eliminating the need to print altogether.  Their worldwide version is free, but you can upgrade to their Premium or Enterprise versions.

It also tracks your impact from using the service, so you can see the difference you are making to help save the environment just from using this software.  They also say on their web site that if all US households with a computer used GreenPrint, we would save over $6 billion. And if all new computers sold in 2006 used GreenPrint, we would save over 36 million trees.  A Fortune 500 company using GreenPrint would save over $2 million, 4000 trees and prevent 12,623 tons of CO2 emissions every year.

It only took me a few minutes to download it and it is easy to use.  They provide an online demo and other interesting eco-facts about printing on the GreenPrint web site. To see some of their press coverage, check out CNN, CNBC, and TreeHugger.

Here’s a short video from CNN:

So, just by using GreenPrint, you help save paper, ink, money, and millions of trees – a simple way to protect the environment. 

~Melissa

The Art of Junk Mail

Make art out of junk mail.  That’s what the artist Schimmel has done. She has created quite gorgeous mosaics out of recycled junk mail and greeting cards.  I would have never fathomed that such beauty could come out of quite literally, “trash.”

      

(2 pieces of Shimmel’s art made out of recycled junk mail: portraits of Venus and Twiggy)

In her own words from her Web site, “I am a rabid recycler – I am compelled to utilize unusual resources to create my art. To reuse materials – and give others’ images and words new life in my work.” I recommend that you check out her entire collection on her Web site: Schimmelart.com. You really have to see it to believe it. 

For those of you who are “crafty,” here’s a How-to Recycle Junk Mail into Art……on A Little Hut Blog.

And for those of you who prefer to shop, check out the Junk Mail Gems web site, where you can buy wallets, bookmarks, gifts, and other necessities which have all been made out of junk mail.

Whether making museum-quality portraits or funky magnets and fun wallets, there’s no limit to what you can do with your junk mail.  Now, I’m convinced that creative people can make something beautiful out of anything…even ugly and annoying junk mail.

~Melissa