Oregon DEQ: Land Quality - Solid Waste - Commercial Waste Reduction Clearinghouse - Success Stories

Mailings, Brochures, and Newsletters

Business: Breaker Point Condominiums (Cannon Beach)

Number of Employees: 3

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Reorganized garbage pick-up areas. A single large garbage dumpster was used to replace a large number of small dumpsters spread throughout the complex. While this made garbage removal slightly less convenient for residents, it saved an impressive amount of money. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $7,600/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 175 pounds of metal/year (less metal in dumpsters overall, amortized over the expected life of the dumpsters).

Began mailing newsletters and bills are in a single envelope, rather than separately, reducing the use of envelopes and postage.

Put lights in recreation areas (tennis courts, pool, sauna, Jacuzzi, and common room) on a timer so that lights automatically turn off after hours. The timers can only be changed by staff.

Installed photocells and timers on exterior lights, so that lights are only on in the evening and early morning.

Installed "toilet dummies" (foam inserts) in the tanks of 5 toilets to reduce the volume of each flush by ½-gallon. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $50/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 13,700 gallons/year.

Case Study

None

Business: Cameron Graphics (Beaverton)

Number of Employees: 7

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Cameron Graphics prints materials for customers in the Portland area. Emphasizing employee training in waste prevention and efficiency measures has decreased purchasing costs five percent and increased salable product from 90-99% of the average print job.

The amount of paper allocated to each print job was gradually reduced and employees were challenged to identify methods to maintain quality output while using less paper.

Opportunities for waste reduction are discussed and tracked at quarterly review meetings.

Previously discarded margin waste paper is now reused during job setup prior to recycling.

During job setup, a density reading is used to measure the correct quantity of ink applied to the paper. Meter readings are recorded and used to efficiently duplicate job setup, saving time, paper and ink.

Case Study

Case study exists, call Metro, 503-234-3000.

Business: Cannon Beach City Hall (Cannon Beach)

Number of Employees: 19

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Eliminated blank pages between print jobs. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $23/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 39 pounds of paper (8 reams)/year.

Converted public notices to a self-mailer (without an envelope). FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $35/year.

Converted heat pump for City Council chambers from electric to natural gas and installed a 24-hour, 7-day thermostat. Since the chambers are used on an infrequent and inconsistent schedule, employees were also trained to be more conscientious about turning the settings down when leaving the room. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: estimated at $422/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 5,560 kWh/year (electricity) and 124 therms/year (natural gas).

Staff check furnace filters every 2-3 months and replace with new filters if needed.

Installed toilet "dummies" (sealed bags filled with a weight, such as rocks) in the tanks of all toilets. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $30/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 7,800 gallons/year.

The sidewalk in front of City Hall is now swept rather than hosed. Sweeping takes no more time than hosing the sidewalk down and uses no water. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $16/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 3,120 gallons/year.

Installed faucet aerators on all sinks, saving energy and water.

Case Study

None

Business: Central Oregon Independent Health Services (Bend)

Number of Employees: 63

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Switched to double-sided copying for the Participating Provider Directory. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $12,100/year (including postage). RESOURCE SAVINGS: 4,500 pounds/year of paper.

An employee newsletter is now distributed to most employees via the company intranet, rather than in hard copy format. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $90/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 23 pounds/year of paper.

Reminders at staff meetings, an e-mail message and wall signs were used to remind employees about the importance of turning off lights, monitors, copiers, and printers when not in use, especially at the end of the day. Also, lamps were removed above work stations as requested by employees. This resulted in a 1% decrease in electricity use despite a 15% increase in employment.

Reduced hot water temperature from 130^o to 120^o Fahrenheit. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $85/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 1,700 kWh/year.

Case Study

None

Business: Clackamas Income Tax (Clackamas)

Number of Employees: unknown

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Reduces paper, envelope, and printer cartridge use by filing tax returns electronically. This saves an estimated $105 for every 1,500 pages sent electronically. Most of the savings are in printer cartridge replacement.

Case Study

None

Business: Corvallis Area Chamber of Commerce (Corvallis)

Number of Employees: 12

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Monthly newsletter is mailed to members without a manila envelope ("self-mailer"). FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $2,100/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 520 pounds of envelopes/year.

Staff have been educated to turn computers off at night and monitors off when not in use. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $380/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 6,900 kWh/year.

Staff have also been educated to turn off lights when they leave the room. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $53/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 850 kWh/year.

Aerators were installed on bathroom faucets to reduce water use and the energy to heat it. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $61/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 26 therms (gas) and 6,300 gallons (water)/year.

Programmable, 24-hour, 7-day thermostats were installed to automatically reduce heating and cooling during unoccupied times.

Ceramic mugs are provided at meetings for guests who don’t want to use disposables. The mugs are then washed in the on-site dishwasher. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $24/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 15 pounds of disposable cups/year.

In over-lit offices, some light bulbs were removed to save energy and reduce the lighting to comfortable levels. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $62/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 1,000 kWh/year, plus light bulbs.

Employees have been educated how to use paper more efficiently in the printers (such as reducing margins and line spacing), how to copy on both sides of the page, and alternatives to full page fax cover sheets. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $74/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 74 pounds of paper/year (about 1-1/2 cases).

Case Study

None

Business: Department of Environmental Quality (Bend)

Number of Employees: ~40

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Canceling eight out of nine subscriptions to a newsletter and circulating the remaining subscription reduces paper use. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $393/year.

Sending 1,500 copies of a public notification using a postcard rather than a full page inside an envelope saves paper and postage. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $330/year.

Staff conducted a major paper waste prevention program that reduced per-employee use of copy and printer paper by 32%. Employees were encouraged to copy on both sides, avoid printing e-mails, and reformat documents to use less paper. A "tip card" was provided to all employees giving detailed instructions on various methods to use less paper, and the office’s "paper waste prevention coordinator" provided hands-on training to employees. Personal computers were also networked to "draft" printers which use paper that has already been printed or copied on one side. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $472/year (paper only, doesn’t include printing, copying, and filing savings). RESOURCE SAVINGS: 1,000 pounds(20 cases) of paper/year.

Removed 25% to 50% of lamps from fixtures next to windows, in hallways, and in conference rooms. Also removed lamps above individual work stations as requested. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $208/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 4,200 kWh/year

Installed 1.5 gallon per minute aerators on all hand-washing sinks. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $120/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 1,600 kWh and 16,600 gallons of water/year.

Case Study

None

Business: Detlefsen Law Office PC (Portland)

Number of Employees: 5

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Reduced use of copy and printer paper by 10% by:

Reformatting billing worksheets to fit more text on each page.

Reducing the number of copies of final invoices from three to two.

Reusing the back of paper for internal copies of invoices and draft documents.

Using a fax stamp rather than a cover sheet for non-confidential document.

FINANCIAL SAVINGS: more than $200/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: more than 50 pounds/year (1 case of paper).

Reuses mailing envelopes.

Eliminated duplicate CLE announcements.

Uses remanufactured toner cartridges. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $220/year.

Recycles almost everything (reduced garbage disposal by 80%) and uses paper containing post-consumer recycled content for both stationery and copy and printer paper.

Case Study

Case study exists: Call Metro, 503-234-3000.

Business: Haystack Motel (Cannon Beach)

Number of Employees: 5

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All guests used to be provided with a complimentary newspaper every morning. Now, guests are asked at check-in if they want a daily newspaper. Approximately 21% of guests say "no." FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $759/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 2,500 pounds/year.

Switched the motel newsletter to a format that can be mailed without an envelope. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $162/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 50 pounds of envelopes/year.

Landscaping is watered in the early morning, when less water evaporates.

At least every 6 months, staff make a point to vacuum all refrigerator coils, check and adjust all refrigerator temperatures, and check toilets for leaks.

As towels wear out, they will be replaced with colored towels. Colored towels can be washed at a lower temperature, thus saving energy.

The motel makes very few photocopies. When documents longer than one page are being copied, staff try to use a different copier that has an automatic double-sided copying feature. This copier is located at the management office (down the street) of the company that owns the motel, so no extra trips are typically required. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $13/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 21 pounds/year (about 4 reams).

Case Study

None

Business: Hershey Studios (Cannon Beach)

Number of Employees: 7

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Hershey Studios creates fine art cards and sells them in its own store and through other stationery and gift stores.

Several times a year, a text sheet is sent to retail customers, showing the cards currently available. It was redesigned to be folded, taped and mailed without an envelope. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $488/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 150 pounds /year.

To clean up spills of ink and paint, the studio obtained discarded rags from a local hotel, eliminating the use of disposable paper towels. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $69/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 40 pounds of paper towels/year.

Case Study

None

Business: Holographics Inc. (Portland)

Number of Employees: 4

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Holographics Inc. is a four-person company that develops interactive marketing and communications tools for businesses. These and other practices have reduced office supply expenditures by more than 57 percent annually:

Extensive use of e-mail to handle phone messages, internal correspondence, and inter-office communications, including document transfers to clients.

Computer-generated faxes.

Canceling hard-copy subscriptions in favor of referencing magazines via the Internet.

Copying and printing is double-sided whenever possible.

Printing of faxes, drafts, and other preliminary documents is done on the blank side of previously used paper.

A printing company hired by Holographics assembles notepads from partially used paper.

File folders are labeled with removable tape so they can be reused. Once folders are unusable, they are trimmed to serve as tab separators within files.

New versions of software are downloaded via the Internet whenever possible, eliminating the disks, manuals and packaging normally associated with software purchases.

FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $1,200/year (all activities).

Case Study

Case study exists: Call Metro, 503-234-3000.

Business: Legacy Health Systems (Portland)

Number of Employees: unknown

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Created an organizational policy to eliminate mercury - the first hospital in Oregon to do so and among the first 200 hospitals in the US.

Replaced disposable foam mattresses with reusables. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $81,527/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 16,350 pounds/year.

Switched from buying juice in 32 oz. glass container to 60 oz. plastic container (containers are recycled; larger containers use less material). FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $125/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 2,500 pounds/year.

Eliminated rarely-used items from custom packs of surgical supplies. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: more than $30,000/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 11,000 pounds/year.

Consolidated duplicative admitting kits for maternity patients. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: more than $3,500/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 2,700 pounds/year.

Switched from disposable gowns and drapes to reusable ones. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $100,000/year. (For one surgery unit only, Legacy is trying to do this organization-wide).

Reduces photocopying by keeping originals in shared files. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: more than $128,000/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 2,100 pounds/year.

Customized the distribution of reports and newsletters; periodically checks distribution lists and only sends reports and newsletters to departments and individuals who request them. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: more than $10,000/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 4,100 pounds/year.

Consolidated seven different patient forms into a single flow sheet. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $158/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 300 pounds/year.

Eliminated unused third page of three-part carbonless form. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $199/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 60 pounds/year.

In 1999, recycled cardboard, 1.1 million pounds of office paper, 72,000 pounds of glass bottles, 54,000 pounds of metal, and 92,000 pounds of several resins of plastics. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $83,000/year.

Recycled 1 ton of lead-acid and NiCd batteries in 1999.

Case Study

Case study exists, call Metro, 503-234-3000.

Mark Kidd, Recycling Specialist for Legacy Health reports that a total of $297,000 was saved through waste reduction and recycling in 1999.

Business: Mentor Graphics Corporation (Wilsonville)

Number of Employees: 1,000

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Mentor Graphics Corporation creates electronic design automation software used by engineers and designers in high-technology industries.

Eliminated, consolidated, or computerized some printed forms. Between 1992 and 1993, the number of pre-printed forms dropped from 556,000 (134 different types of forms) to 399,000 (91 different types of forms). FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $55,000/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: more than 2,000 pounds/year.

"Save Our Supplies" Program to consolidate and redeploy reusable office supplies. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $45,900.

Double-sided copying. All copies at on-site copy center are made double-sided unless specifically requested. Posters above walk-up copiers remind employees to copy on both sides. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $15,500/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 32,500 pounds/year.

Guarantee return postage for undeliverable direct mail; delete names from mailing lists. Periodic telemarketing campaigns to "clean up" mailing lists; remove or change obsolete addresses. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $7,000/year.

Replacing printed documentation with electronic media (CD-ROM).

Recycles cardboard, office paper, magazines, newspapers, aluminum, and glass. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $13,700/year.

Case Study

Case study exists, call Metro, 503-234-3000.

Business: OECO Corporation (Milwaukie)

Number of Employees: unknown

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OECO Corporation, a manufacturing firm, used to duplicate and distribute policy, procedure, health and safety, and other manual updates to each department. Now, manuals are updated on the computer and one master (printed) copy is kept. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $2,100/year.

Case Study

None

Business: Sagewood School (Bend)

Number of Employees: 8

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Informed parents of how to pack a "waste wise" lunch for kids; switched from paper towels to cloth towels for staff; and started a mixed paper recycling bin. The school was able to reduce the size of their garbage can from 60 gallons to 33 gallons.

Reformatted reimbursement forms to use half as much paper.

Began double-siding the school newsletter.

Turned down hot water temperature from 130^o to 120^o Fahrenheit. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $23/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 460 kWh/year.

Case Study

None

Business: Sandtrap Inn (Cannon Beach)

Number of Employees: 4

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Staff used to automatically mail confirmation notices to guests when they booked a reservation. Now, guests are asked if they want a confirmation notice. Approximately half of the guests ask not to be mailed a notice. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $426/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 14 pounds of paper/year.

Redesigned promotional brochure to be a "self-mailer" (without an envelope). FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $15/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 5 pounds of paper/year.

Reduced the number of exterior ornamental lights by 1/3. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $66/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 1,300 kWh/year.

Eliminated an extra, unnecessary rinse cycle in washing machines. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $20/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 5,200 gallons/year.

In a few condos, refrigerators and hot water are turned off during the slowest month of the year and these condos are not rented out. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $23/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 420 kWh/year.

Installed low flow showerheads to reduce energy and water use. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $119/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 1,400 kWh/year and 10,200 gallons of water/year.

Eliminated "sanitized for your protection" paper toilet strips. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $23/year.

Case Study

None

Business: Southside Physical Therapy (Bend)

Number of Employees: <10

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Reformatted newsletter so that it can be mailed without an envelope.

Purchased microwavable hot packs and disconnect hydroculator (a tank of hot water that kept hot packs warm).

Keep lights off in rooms when not in use.

Switched to lower wattage light bulb.

Retrofitted exist sign with high-efficiency LED.

Limit washing to full loads only.

Installed 24-hour 7-day programmable thermostat.

FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $87/year (energy bills only).

Case Study

None

Business: Stan Wiley Inc., Realtors, Metro Branch (Portland)

Number of Employees: 48

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Flyer companies used to distribute to every agent packets of flyers from other real estate companies, mortgage and title companies, appraisers, and other companies. Historically, every agent in the Metro Branch received their own set of approximately 80 flyers each week. Agents decided to maintain one complete set of flyers next to the copy machine for all agents to browse through. 37 of the 38 agents agreed to forgo receiving their own sets of flyers. The office administrator communicated this new policy to the flyer companies both in person and with a letter. Instead of 38 packets of flyers per week, the office now receives two packets. This significantly reduces clutter and paper waste. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 1,860 pounds of paper/year (abut 38 cases).

Case Study

Case study exists, call Metro, 503-234-3000.

Business: State Farm Insurance Companies (Salem)

Number of Employees: unknown

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State Farm Insurance has more than 3,600 employees and agents who receive regular communications about company information. Many of these communications have been converted to e-mails. Changing just 10 items from paper to e-mail saves about 360,000 sheets of paper. State Farm averages about 28 e-mails a month, substantially reducing the amount of paper used.

Case Study

None

Business: Steve Martin Management (Headquarters, Cannon Beach)

Number of Employees: 16

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Steve Martin Management owns and manages hotels and other vacation properties on the Oregon Coast. The headquarters office is located in Cannon Beach.

Reduced the number of promotional newsletter mailings from 4 to 3 per year. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $1,000/year (not including production time). RESOURCE SAVINGS: 75 pounds of paper/year.

Purchased "post-it notes" for fax transmissions when no message is required on the cover page, rather than using full pages. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $280/year (including reduced long-distance charges due to shorter fax transmissions). RESOURCE SAVINGS: 24 pounds of paper/year.

Case Study

None

Business: Super King Sentry Market (Milwaukie)

Number of Employees: 30

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Like most grocery stores, Super King Sentry Market places a stack of extra sales flyers at the store doors. Watching these in-store copies revealed that about 3/4 weren’t picked up. The number of flyers purchased was reduced, saving paper, labor, and clutter. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $2,067/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 680 pounds of newsprint/year.

Case Study

None

Business: Tualatin High School (Tualatin)

Number of Employees: ~100

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Encourage teachers and students to copy, print, and write on both sides of the page.

Eliminated print overruns of the school newspaper. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $1,260/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 260 pounds/year.

Use a posting policy to discourage excess posters; install more bulletin boards, reduce number of posters. This reduces high custodial costs repainting damaged walls.

Classroom garbage can liners are no longer changed every night unless obviously soiled. Lunchroom garbage can liners are only pulled between lunches if more than half full.

Replaced paper food trays for a la carte items with wax tissue pickups. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $458/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 320 pounds/year.

A mulching mower is used everywhere except the football field and baseball diamond. This saves mowing time, hauling expenses, and garbage bags. It also returns nitrogen and other nutrients to the soil, reducing lawn fertilizer needs. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: more than $10,000/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 37,800 pounds/year.

Purchase cleaning solutions in concentrate. A dispenser unit is used to mix the concentrates with water at the correct ratio. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $300/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 350 pounds/year.

Purchase remanufactured laser printer cartridges rather than new cartridges. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $1,200/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 72 pounds/year.

Built in 1991, the school features glazed and double-paned windows, electronic ballasts, advanced fluorescent lights, and computer controlled heating and cooling. As a result of these design features, Tualatin High School uses 36% less energy per square foot of building space than the district’s other high school. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: approximately $35,000/year.

Case Study

Case study exists, call Metro, 503-234-3000.

Business: US Post Office (Cannon Beach)

Number of Employees: 3

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The District Office in Portland now consolidates multiple internal mailings into a single envelope. Previously, each document was sent in its own envelope. This change was implemented throughout the Portland District at the request of the Cannon Beach Postmaster.

Eliminated the printing of blank sheets by the laser printer at the start of each print job.

Changed to carbonless forms, where allowed. The United States Postal Service requires the use of carbon (for copies) in certain register books so local staff can’t change them; however, they do reuse the carbon slips.

A student volunteer makes scratch pads from paper pulled from the recycling bin.

Installed faucet aerators on sinks to reduce water and energy costs. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $20/year.

Case Study

None

Business: US WEST (Portland)

Number of Employees: unknown

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US WEST redesigned its residential phone bill. The bill was reformatted and a larger page was used. 70% of residential customers now receive a one-page bill, rather than four pages. RESOURCE SAVINGS: in Oregon alone, that saves more than 140,000 pounds of paper a year.

Case Study

None

Business: Western View Middle School (Corvallis)

Number of Employees: 55

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The Student Leadership Class designed and delivered educational messages to teachers and other students on the importance of using both sides of paper, conserving energy, and recycling. Electricity use dropped 7% compared to the same period one year earlier.

The school reduced the size of the school newsletter by shrinking advertisements from full pages to half- and quarter-pages, replacing registration forms with short articles (with phone numbers), and reformatting articles and announcements to use space more efficiently. The amount of paper used in the newsletters dropped 17%. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $155/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 70 pounds/year (about 14 reams).

Each teacher is given a photocopying budget at the start of the year. Teachers who don’t use all of their allotment are allowed to spend the difference on other improvements. One team of teachers saved enough to buy an extra computer for use by students.

As 40-watt fluorescent lamps burn out, they are replaced with high efficiency 34-watt lamps. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $1,289/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 32,000 kWh/year.

Case Study

Case study exists.