Even with all the latest technology at hand, the amount of paper that schools waste on a yearly basis is actually quite staggering. We all have to find ways to be greener, whether it’s at home or in the office, and nowhere is this more important than in our educational establishments. The good news is that technology is now available to help us cut down on consumption, providing cheaper, less wasteful, ways of accessing information.

1. Our primary and secondary schools produce in the region of 258,000 tonnes of waste on a daily basis of which nearly two third could quite easily be recycled or cut down.
2. Over a third of this waste, according to the Office of National Statistics, is paper and card, closely followed by food packaging.
3. Schools and colleges waste more paper and card than homes across the UK and over half of this is readily recyclable (A4 paper and magazines etc).
4. Not all the waste is from pupils who don’t often have a clear strategy for usage but a large part is from administrative procedures that put an emphasis on printing out matter such as class information and newsletters.
5. Many schools have now incorporated strategies such as waste reduction into the curriculum giving primary and secondary pupils the chance to explore the issues that all kids will face as they become adults.
6. Undertaking a full audit can help schools to produce the strategies that reduce the level of paper wastage and consumption. That includes changing from the habit of printing out to transferring class materials to digital devices such as tablets and laptops.
7. Schools can literally halve their paper consumption by introducing mandatory double sided printing. Whilst older MFPs don’t always offer this option, most new models now provide it as a matter of course.
8. Schools are now purchasing recycled paper as a way of reducing their carbon footprint and providing suitable containers and bins to make sure that scrap paper is dealt with properly.
9. Whilst we haven’t quite hit the dream of the paperless office, we can do a number of things to help reduce the amount of printing in schools. This can include developing more robust office management strategies as well as using new technology such as school apps that keep parents and pupils up to date via their smartphones.
10. Roughly two-thirds of paper is now recycled but we could still do better, especially at home. At Christmas time it’s estimated that we throw away over 80 square kilometres of wrapping paper – enough to nearly cover a large city.

We have made great strides in our schools and colleges over the last few years and there is a concerted effort by pupils and staff to cut down on wastage. The good news is that our kids are probably more techno savvy than we ever will be and are sure to embrace new ideas and new ways of doing things.

Introducing systems such as Papercut can help schools and colleges manage their print systems effectively, reducing the costs and making a big dent on that all important environmental impact.

For more information on reducing school paper waste, call ISL Digital on 0208 911 3780 and request your FREE print audit