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

Business Type Office

Business: Barker-Halland Insurance Company (Corvallis)

Number of Employees: 21

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Lighting retrofit reduced electricity use by 34%. The retrofit includes replacing T-12 fluorescent lamps and magnetic ballasts with T-8 lamps and electronic ballasts, removing lamps in areas that were overlit, and replacing standard "screw-in" incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. The retrofit cost $880 (after a utility rebate and Oregon Business Energy Tax Credit). FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $717/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 13,812 kWh/year.

Installed a new high-efficiency variable speed condensing gas furnace and replaced an undersized air conditioner. Also replaced a continuous speed fan with a variable speed fan that uses approximately 42% less electricity. The fan runs at a lower speed when the building isn’t being heated or cooled. While these changes will reduce energy use, they will also significantly improve employee comfort, and thus productivity. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $429/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 6,990 kWh/year (electricity) and 217 therms/year (natural gas).

Implementing a fully-electronic system for storing, accessing, and changing customer records. This is expected to save considerable time and paper. RESOURCE SAVINGS: about 9 cases of paper per year.

Uses remanufactured toner cartridges. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $360/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 45 pounds/year.

Recycles office paper. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $270/year.

Purchases stationery and paper towels manufactured from recycled paper.

Sends faxes electronically where possible; or uses small sticky notes or 1/2 page fax covers rather than full page covers.

Insulated hot water heater.

Placed bathroom lights on a crank-style timer, so that they can’t be accidentally left on.

Case Study

Case study exists.

Business: Bend Memorial Clinic (Bend)

Number of Employees: 375

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Identified examples of unnecessary packaging of medical products and sent letters to vendors requesting more resource efficient packaging.

A clinic-wide paper waste prevention program reduced per-employee use of paper by 12% in one year. Employees were asked to make double-sided copies, reuse paper that had already been used on one side, and reprogram printers and fax machines to eliminate printing of unneeded fax transmission reports and blank pages between print jobs. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $1,550/year (paper costs only; printing and labor savings not included). RESOURCE SAVINGS: 65 cases (3,250 pounds) of paper/year.

Changed from printing timesheets on large greenbar paper to a smaller (8½ x 11") paper. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 300 pounds of paper/year.

Case Study

None

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: City of Milwaukie (Milwaukie)

Number of Employees: 148

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The City of Milwaukie has four buildings: City Hall, Ledding Library, Public Security (fire and police), and the Johnson Creek Building (offices and shops).

Reduced hot water temperature at all faucets to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $104/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 230 therms/year.

Installed water conserving valves on all urinals in men’s restrooms. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $97/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 25,000 gallons/year.

Purchased a unit to recondition rechargeable batteries. After multiple rechargings, most batteries lose their ability to hold a charge. Reconditioning restores the batteries so that they can be recharged and reused again. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $274/year (net). RESOURCE SAVINGS: 55 pounds/year.

Reduced paper use across all City offices by 6% through employee education about double-sided copying and efficient printing and formatting practices. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $351/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 585 pounds of paper/year.

Encourages reuse of filing folders, hanging files, and other office supplies.

Installed a crank timer for lights in a storage loft. This turns the lights off after 10 to 30 minutes. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $321/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 7,400 kWh/year, plus light bulbs.

Installed a crank timer for lights in the parking garage. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $522/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 11,000 kWh/year, plus light bulbs.

Reduced outside night-time lighting levels by 50% to 75% at the Johnson Creek Building offices and shops. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $3,211/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 50,900 kWh/year, plus light bulbs.

Fixed a shower drip in a locker room. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $28/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 16 therms (gas) and 4,900 gallons (water)/year.

Fixed a leak at the truck/car wash. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $113/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 29,200 gallons/year.

Incorporated recycled content building materials into several remodeling projects.

Case Study

Report available on use of recycled building materials in remodeling projects. Call Metro, 503-234-3000.

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: Columbia Gorge Veterinary Clinic (Hood River)

Number of Employees: unknown

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Installed a ventilation system that reduces the need for air conditioning by using fresh outside air during morning and evening hours. This reduced electricity use by 25-30% and had a two-year payback.

Upgraded lighting and lighting controls and insulated the hot water heater, reducing electricity use another 15-20%. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $225/year.

Installed faucet aerators and a toilet tank displacement to reduce water use.

Reconfigured margins and simplified a medical form to fit onto one page of paper.

Reuses large envelopes and file folders.

Case Study

Call Hood River Green Smart, 541-386-2000.

Business: Consumer Credit Counseling of Central Oregon (Bend)

Number of Employees: <15

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Switched to multi-fold paper towels in a dispenser from kitchen-style roll paper towels (not in a dispenser). The multi-fold towels are smaller and easier to use; staff believe they result in less towel waste. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $43/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 60 pounds of paper towels/year.

Using the automatic "duplex" feature on the copy machine to make double-sided copies has reduced paper use at least 10%. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $140/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 200 pounds of paper/year (4 cases).

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: Corvallis Hardware/ True Value (Corvallis)

Number of Employees: 11

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Corvallis Hardware purchases the large majority of its products from Cotter & Company. Deliveries from the Portland distribution center are shipped in reusable plastic totes. Empty totes from the previous week are picked up for reuse when new merchandise is dropped off.

Cotter & Company also redesigned its billing statement; invoices are now sent every two weeks rather than weekly. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: more than $20,000/year (Cotter & Company). RESOURCE SAVINGS: 22.5 tons of paper/year (Cotter & Company).

Corvallis Hardware is also retrofitting magnetic ballasts and T-12 fluorescent lamps with electronic ballasts and T-8 lamps as old lamps and ballasts burn out. This will eventually reduce electricity bills by about $1,300/year.

Case Study

Case study exists.

Business: Corvallis-Benton County Public Library (Corvallis)

Number of Employees: 62

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Transports books between locations in durable plastic totes, rather than paper boxes.

Uses remanufactured toner cartridges. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $325/year.

Buys stationery containing recycled paper.

Recycles office paper, corrugated cardboard boxes, newspaper, yard debris, and bottles and cans.

Encourages the reuse of books through an annual used book sale. Consolidates unsaleable books with Oregon State University for recycling.

The Library has an unofficial policy banning the use of brightly colored papers ("astrobrights") which are difficult to recycle. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $200/year.

All restroom sinks have self-regulating faucets that provide water for about three seconds before shutting off. Water is also set at a constant temperature, so patrons don’t waste water adjusting the temperature.

Reduced run times on automatic sprinkler irrigation system from 20 minutes per station to 6-10 minutes per station. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: approximately $530/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: approximately 440,000 gallons of water/year.

As bulbs in exit signs burn out, staff are replacing them with LED lamps. LED lamps have life expectancies of 30 to 50 years, compared to 4 to 6 months for traditional incandescent lamps. The full retrofit will cost $1,352. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $628/year when fully implemented (electricity and bulb savings, labor savings not included). RESOURCE SAVINGS: 8,000 kWh/year (when fully implemented).

Case Study

Case study exists.

Business: Davis Wright Tremaine LLP (Portland)

Number of Employees: 165

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

Using laser-printed stationery. This eliminates the need to print and stock new letterhead each time an office is added.

Using a fax transmission "macro" that prints a small box with the outgoing fax number and number of pages on the first page of the document, in place of cover pages.

Eliminating the unused second page of two-part "copy request" and "scan request" forms. Forms are now printed in-house since carbonless paper is no longer needed.

Eliminating blank pages between print jobs by reprogramming computers.

Office policy requires that all internal documents are copied on both sides of the paper.

FINANCIAL SAVINGS: more than $6,000/year (including some but not all of the resulting labor savings). RESOURCE SAVINGS: more than 100 cases of paper (5,000 pounds)/year.

Remanufactured toner cartridges and used in laser printers and fax machines. The firm recommends that other companies interview vendors to determine what services are provided, and ask for customer references. Remanufactured cartridges occasionally require early replacement, but a good service company will replace them at no cost. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $12,000/year.

Approximately 60% of the firm’s paper purchases contain some recycled content.

Every employee has a desk-side box for recycling office paper and office paper and newspaper containers are located on every floor.

Case Study

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

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: 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: Hood River County Chamber of Commerce (Hood River)

Number of Employees: 7

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Began duplexing copies and using single-sided documents to print draft documents and for notepads. Since instituting these changes, paper consumption has been cut by nearly 40%.

Case Study

None

Business: Hood River Electric Cooperative (Hood River)

Number of Employees: 12

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Reduced energy use approximately 30%.

T-12 fluorescent lamps and magnetic ballasts were replaced with T-8 lamps and electronic ballasts in all areas where the lights are used on a regular basis. Incandescent bulbs were replaced with compact fluorescents in other high-use areas, such as the entryway and restrooms.

Installed a ground-source heat pump, which warms and cools the building by pumping heat from or to the soil. This system replaced electric resistance heating and a separate air conditioning unit in the ducts of the air handling system. Connecting a standard electric water heater into a heat exchanger circuit with the heat pump compressor further supplies most of the building’s hot water.

Controls further reduce energy use when the equipment is not in use. This includes a programmable thermostat for the heat pump system, and low-power/"sleep" modes for computers, printers, and the photocopier.

RESOURCE SAVINGS: 32,000 kWh/year. 32,000 kWh/year.

Improved its irrigation system by replacing "rain bird" type impulse sprinklers with drip emitters and "micro-sprinklers" to use less water. Placement of mulch around landscaping also conserves water by reducing evaporation.

The shop floor is now swept rather than hosed down, further saving water.

The electric cooperative is switching to a longer-lasting electric cable that reduces material use (replacement) and labor costs. Although the longer-lasting cable costs more up-front, it is expected to reduce overall costs from anywhere between 19% and 57% after replacement costs (including labor) are factored in.

The office reuses file folders, cuts old paper into notepads, and purchased a duplexing unit as an option when replacing an older copy machine to allow two-sided copying.

Case Study

Call Hood River Green Smart, 541-386-2000.

Business: John L. Scott Realty (Gresham)

Number of Employees: unknown

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Information such as new listings and schedules for continuing education classes are shared with all agents using voice mail, rather than printed notices. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $300 to $500/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 130 pounds of paper/year.

Cardboard boxes such as copy paper boxes are saved and given to clients for moving. This reduces waste and provides a valuable customer service.

Case Study

Brochure exists: "Sold on Waste Prevention!" (prepared by HLA for Metro); Call Metro, 503-234-3000.

Business: Legacy Health Systems (Portland)

Number of Employees: unknown

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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.

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.

Recycles cardboard, office paper, glass bottles, metal cans, and several resins of plastics.

Case Study

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

Business: Me & Company (Winston)

Number of Employees: 2

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Me & Company is a stained glass studio, including retail sales of stained glass supplies and space for classes and workshops.

All scrap glass generated in the studio is saved for use in smaller projects or donated to the art teacher at Douglas High School for student projects.

Broken window glass is accepted from the public for use in teaching students how to cut glass.

Recovering lead from leaded stained glass projects and waste solder is a skill taught to classes.

Polystyrene packing peanuts, office paper, and paper towels used to clean glass pieces are reused.

Work tables are made from scrap lumber or old kitchen cabinets.

Scrap glass bins are old kitchen cabinet drawers.

Cardboard, yard waste, and beverage containers are also recycled.

Case Study

None

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: Oregon Independent Federal Credit Union (Oregon City)

Number of Employees: unknown

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Stopped printing certain internal reports; people now view the reports directly on their computer screens. The first report that was converted will save around 500 sheets of paper per month. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: about $85/year (one report only, not including printing or storage space).

Case Study

None

Business: Oregon Shakespeare Festival (Ashland)

Number of Employees: unknown

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Replaced two water heaters with higher efficiency models.

Reduced thermostat settings for both water and space heating systems.

Installed energy-efficient lights and controls.

FINANCIAL SAVINGS: The Oregon Shakespeare Festival expects to save around $5,000/year as a result of these three changes.

Case Study

Call Oregon Office of Energy, 1-800-221-8035

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

Vignette

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: 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

Vignette

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 Cascade Credit Union (Roseburg)

Number of Employees: unknown

Vignette

Western Cascade Credit Union’s data processing system produces a large quantity of paper that is printed on one side of the page and does not need to be kept. This paper is reused in the copy machine for interoffice use. The credit union’s Board of Directors has also agreed to receive their monthly reports on the reused paper.

The credit union also recycles all office papers, including shredded paper. An employee transports the paper to a local recycling center.

Case Study

None

Business: Western View Middle School (Corvallis)

Number of Employees: 55

Vignette

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.

Business: Willamette Falls Immediate Care (Clackamas)

Number of Employees: unknown

Vignette

Changed a 4-page NCR (carbonless) patient chart form to a 2-page form. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 24,000 sheets of paper per year.

Case Study

None