Each semester, we use them and lose them—we need them! For the things in life that we need to buy, it can make a big difference what we buy, even when those things are small or get reused or recycled in the end.
Those things are the dreaded budget drainers: school supplies. There is no avoiding the need to take notes or to write things down on paper with a pen. Making a few greener choices is possible, even at the campus bookstore.
Pens
Did you know that each year in the U.S. 1.6 million pens are discarded? That is 151 miles of pens, or about the distance from IU South Bend to Ball State. Purchasing a refillable pen can help reduce that amount, and buying a pen (refillable or not) made of recycled plastic can reduce the amount of plastic created to make all those pens. The campus bookstore carries a variety of refillable pens but just one brand made primarily of post-consumer materials. The price is competitive (two for $3.98 is the same price as Bic refillables), but there is one hitch with all brands available. No refills are available at the bookstore.
Paper
According to Green Seal, a non-profit organization which sets science-based environmental certification standards on a variety of products, over 31 million tons of paper are used for printing and writing each year in the U.S. This uses over 535 million trees and over 12 billion gallons of oil to make. Their report on paper tells consumers to consider
Purchasing products that are chlorine-free and include post-consumer fibers” in order to “reduce the strain on natural resources, promote resource conservation and waste reduction, and minimize toxic emissions.”
The EPA recommends a slightly softer approach, but still encourages purchasing paper that is at least 30% post-consumer fiber. Paper is available in the IUSB bookstore that meets at least the EPA recommendations, but it will cost a bit more green to be green.
For example, a spiral-bound notebook with 80 recycled content pages is $3.98, while a similar one with 100 pages also costs $3.98. Filler paper that would make the EPA happy costs $5.98 for 170 sheets, but a non-green brand will provide 130 sheets for $2.98.
How much paper do you need? How much will you use? Surely it will be recycled at the end of its use, right? Do you need a more pens? Spending less money usually results in a lower impact on the environment, or so the Union of Concerned Scientists will tell you. Consider voting – or not- with your school supply dollars to make a difference in the bookstore marketplace and beyond.
Coming soon to a Campus Bookstore near You?
For those who are beyond pen and paper, there is a green alternative to help keep track of notes and projects. A recyclable USB drive, the EarthDrive™, is made from biodegradable materials.
It is also waterproof, dustproof, shock proof, and ESD proof. An added bonus is that the company gives a portion of its profits to American Forests to plant trees, making this green product a bit greener.
Other companies are touting drives that are certified not to contain lead, cadmium, mercury or other heavy metals, and drives housed in bamboo, a renewable resource.
The Greening of the New Year
Published: Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Updated: Tuesday, January 12, 2010
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