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Unsurprisingly, given Sustainable Times ’ readership and the competition sponsor, most suggestions related to printing and paper consumption. The most common suggestion was to print on both sides of the page (duplex) to reduce paper consumption. This was followed by the recommendation to re-use paper printed on one side, either by placing it in a designated printer tray for memos, drafts and internal documents or by cutting it up and making notepads for phone messages, doodles etc. Other suggestions for reducing paper consumption were only to print when you need to and to use the printer preview feature to eliminate printing errors.

Also on the subject of printing, Martin Evans of Bristol advised readers NEVER to accept that a default setting is best for your business, stating that ‘it is always a compromise’. In other words, make use of draft printing settings to minimise toner usage when printing

internal or short-lived documents. Another tip, from Mr Baker of Cardiff, is to print in black and white rather than colour – an interesting suggestion as the debate around colour tends to focus on its cost and rarely touches on the environmental consequences of extra toner use and the additional cartridges that colour printing entails. Andrew Cakebread of Chatham, Kent has some good advice for inkjet printer users, viz. to unclog cartridges that have dried up by placing them in a cup of steamy hot water; while Howard Carpenter of Peacehaven suggests recycling ink cartridges via organisations such as Traidcraft and Oxfam or reﬁlling them with a reﬁll kit and then using the plastic syringe supplied to feed small animals or apply bleach to areas of fabric.

Peter Whittle of Fakenham took a slightly different tack by addressing not only how we produce paper but how we consume it too. His energy-saving/waste-reduction tip is to read E-books rather than paper-based publications that use up large amounts of pulp, water and greenhouse gases.

As expected, many readers sent in energy-saving tips, the most common of which was to turn off devices and not leave them on standby. Melanie Robson of Hexham, Northumberland highlighted the fact that chargers consume energy even when the appliance they work with has been detached and advised people to switch off phone chargers and adapters at the wall when they’re not in use. Sylvia Martin, managing director of Library Supply International, provided a different perspective on the on/off debate, pointing out that strip lights use very high levels of power when being switched on, so there are certain areas where it is better to leave them on

(e.g. toilets) rather than constantly turning them on and off. She also suggested leaving food recycling bins outside ofﬁces to create humus to put on bee-

friendly, nectar-bearing shrubs and trees recommended by the British Beekeepers Association.

This was far from the only horticultural suggestion. Others included mixing shredded paper with green waste to make compost for company plant containers; and the following energy-harvesting tip from Derek Harrison of Swinton, Manchester: “Fill old 2-litre plastic milk containers with water. Place them around the base of the greenhouse. They will absorb heat during the day, which will be transferred during the cool of the night.”

The energy-saving category also includes the strangest suggestion, which is to “Put your air freshener on a timer so that in the night it switches off”. Surely, penned by a satirist of the highest order.

Among the more mainstream suggestions were to buy a laptop for your next computer upgrade as they use less energy than desktop computers; to turn the heating down; to install motion sensor switches; and to share a bath – though perhaps not in the workplace. Underlining the extent to which energy-saving is often simply a matter of common sense and good management,

Mr M Stead, project manager for ONS, suggested de-cluttering cars and vans to improve fuel efﬁciency; while Mrs Tina Hunt of Bromsgrove advised readers to “always make sure that your

light ﬁttings, bulbs/ neon tubes and shades are cleaned regularly. If you allow dust and dirt to build up, you can lose up to 20% of emitted light and may feel like putting on another light.”

Another common-sense suggestion was supplied by Hazel Rea of Colchester, who wrote: “During the winter months pull blinds on the South side up to make use of solar gain - and encourage staff to wear warmer clothes (ofﬁce staff often dress in the same weight of clothes throughout the year) so that the thermostat can be turned down a degree or two.”

CATERING