Greener Living #35: Print Double-Sided

American businesses throw away 21 million tons of paper every year, 175 pounds per office worker. For a quick and easy way to halve this, set your printer's default option to double-sided (duplex printing). This has the added advantage of halving the paper pile on your desk. To further cut your paper wastage, make sure you always use "print preview" mode to check that there are no overhanging lines and that you print only the pages you need. Other ways to cut down on paper before you get to the printing stage include using single or 1.5 spacing instead of double spacing, and reducing your page margins. (For my classes this semester, I'm actually going to require them to print their essays on both sides. Not only will it cut down on the paper used, but it will also cut down on the weight of the essays I have to carry around. Also, why not use the back of copies for scratch paper? When I was working at BN for the holidays, I was appalled by the amount of copy paper I saw tossed in the trash every day, especially since the employees at the info desk were always scrambling for paper to write on. A lot of recycling centers will even take copy paper now, so why don't businesses consider doing this?)