Observer

Saturday night was the earth hour and people around the world turned off their lights for an hour as a part of global campaign to show their concern about global warming. However, there are yet much simpler ways that we can help the earth to be a greener place.  A report recently published by Statistics Canada shows that between 1983 and 2003, paper consumption in office environments doubled and reached 6 million tonnes per year. A major cause of paper waste is shown to be unsolicited mail, flyers, and unnecessary printing of documents by business and personal printers.

Individuals can play a key role by reducing paper consumption at home or in the work place. Most people ignore the fact that nowadays, almost every printer can print on both sides of a sheet of paper, a simple feature that can make a significant difference in both the short and long term. Moreover, few people may be aware that Canada Post has an option that allows citizens to stop receiving unsolicited mail or flyers by leaving a note to this effect on their mailbox. Various campaigns have been created to this end aiming to raise Canadian’s awareness of this option and to encourage them to start putting a “no junk mail” sticker on their mailboxes.