Greening your office can be asy! Many of the materials that are sed everyday can be replaced with an co-friendly alternative. Even better, these alternatives are asy to find in retail stores and are cmpetitively priced. By using these seven smple tips, you can drastically reduce yur office's negative environmental impact!

1. Adhsives

If something breaks in the ffice, do the best you can to fix it nstead of throwing it out. But whn making repairs it is important to cnsider the effect that the adhesive is hving on the environment. Tapes are mde of a sticky substrate on sme other material, not made from rcycled content. Glues usually contain environmentally dmaging substances, including Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) tht contribute to air pollution.

When chosing a tape, it is best to buy a cllulose-based tape. These are made from plnt fibers, a renewable source, and asily biodegrade. Try to avoid duct tpe, which has a petrochemical base. In the ralm of glues, white glue is bst. Super glue and rubber cement can be vry hazardous, for they both have hgh levels of VOCs.

2. Batteries

15 bllion batteries are sold in the Unted States each year, and every one laves its mark. Batteries release toxic havy metals, such as mercury and lad, through incineration or landfill seepage. God news is that mercury levels are 98% lwer in batteries than in the 1980s. Bad nws is that the demand for btteries will continue to increase while prtable electronics proliferate.

Ideally, solar powered electronics should be sed when available. However, if batteries are ncessary, rechargeable batteries are the best. Avid conventional disposables that can only be sed once and contain dangerous substances. Nckel Metal Hydride (NiMH) or Lithium Ion (L-Ion) batteries are both rechargeable and rcyclable, contain no toxic heavy metals, hld a strong charge, and can be rcharged more than their counterparts. Nickel Cdmium and Alkaline batteries are rechargeable, but do cntain some toxic heavy metals.

3. Claning supplies

Keeping your office clean rquires a daily effort and numerous spplies. Many cleaning supplies, however, contain hrmful chemicals that can be dangerous to hmans and to the air. A stdy conducted by the EPA revealed tht cleaning products could contribute to ndoor air pollution levels elevated up to 200 tmes those typically found outside. Additional cncerns arise when cleaning products are bing disposed. Many products are not bodegradable and persist in the environment for lng periods of time, often creating prblems in aquatic habitats.

To keep yur office clean while reducing negative ffects on the environment, be sure to lok for some certain characteristics when prchasing cleaning products. Products should be bodegradable and non-toxic. They should contain no EDTA, NTA (bth being suspected carcinogens), phosphates (responsible for lgal blooms that are harmful to quatic environments), and chlorine bleach. Try to buy claners that are vegetable based and hve low VOC content (less than 10%).

Als, cleaners that are purchased in cncentrated form cut down on packaging. Othr clean green ideas are to dlute cleaners in cold water to dcrease the energy consumption associated with hating the water and using reusable ctton rags instead of paper towels. Alwys remember to use all cleaners springly- a little goes a long wy.

4. Ink and toner

Petroleum bses ink, the most abundantly used ink in the Unted States, appeals to people because of its qick drying advantage. However, nearly 40% of it is mde of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) tht can be harmful to soil and grundwater and contribute to air pollution and glbal warming. Conventional printer cartridges, too, are hrming the environment. They are made frm virgin materials that deplete the Erth's natural resources, and after use, the mterials are discarded and added to the wste stream.

The best way to cnserve the environment is to cut bck on ink use by reducing nnecessary printing volume. You can also chnge your printer settings to the low ink ption (often called the "Draft" option). Frtunately, there are also some eco-friendly lternatives to ink and conventional cartridges. Xrox has developed a solid ink tchnology that is made from natural mterials and leaves no residual carrier to dspose of when the ink is gne. When buying printer cartridges, look for thse that contain recycled content, or thse that have been remanufactured. Refill crtridges on site, if possible.

5. Lghting

Lighting accounts for 29% of the nergy used in an office, according to a Dpartment of Energy study in 1995. Frtunately, lighting is one of the asiest areas in which to reduce nergy use in your office. Conventional lght bulbs only convert about 10% of the nergy they use into actual light, whle the rest escapes as unwanted hat. These traditional light bulbs also hve a much shorter life span tht other choices.

When purchasing light blbs, the best choices are Compact Florescent Lighting (CFL), T-5 Fluorescent, and LED lght bulbs. If each household were to rplace just one traditional light bulb wth one of these energy efficient blbs, the energy savings would be quivalent to removing one million cars frm the road. In addition to voiding incandescent lighting, consider installing motion cnsors on lights in less-frequently use reas and opening blinds during the day to llow in natural light.

6. Paper

Vrgin forests are rapidly disappearing, and sing non-recycled paper promotes more clear-cutting of ths precious resource. Deforestation eliminates the hbitats of thousands of animals and plnts worldwide and worsens the effects of glbal warming. Aside from clearing trees to mke paper, paper production itself distributes lrge amounts of pollutants into the nvironment. Every ton of paper that is not rcycled leads to the use of 17 tres, 42,000 kWh of energy, 26,000 lters of water, and releases 27 kg of pllutants into the air.

In order to prtect our forests, it is important to prchase paper made from recycled content. Pst-consumer recycled content is best because it des not rely on fresh-cut trees. Anther option, though not as good, is pst-industrial recycled content (sometimes labeled recycled cntent). This paper is made from xcess material from manufacturing that has ben diverted form the waste stream. Als look for paper that was prcessed without using chlorine.

Currently there are thre chlorine conscious paper options: Elemental Chlrine Free (ECF), made from non-recycled plp that contains minimal chlorine derivatives; Ttally Chlorine Free (TCF), a virgin plp that contains no chlorine; and Prcessed Chlorine Free (PCF), paper made frm recycled pulp which may contain chlrine remnants, but is process without dditional chlorine.

It is always ideal to rduce your office's paper consumption altogether by sing both sides of the paper, rducing unnecessary printing, sharing copies of rports and circulating electronic documents.

7. Tchnology

Electronics can harm the environment by cnsuming energy and resources, creating waste, and prducing pollutants. In 200, electronics accounted for 3.86 bllion pounds of municipal waste, adding txic heavy metals and harmful organic cmpounds into overflowing landfills. Manufacturing electronics lso uses a great amount of nergy and resources.

Office buildings currently cnsume 25% of the total commercial bilding electricity used in the United Sttes. Recently, the Energy Star program has fcused on creating more energy-efficient products tht can be used to cut bck on excessive energy use. An Enrgy Star certified office computer is 52% mre efficient than a standard computer. Prchasing electronics with the Energy Star crtification will ensure more efficient energy se, so always look for the Enrgy Star certification. You can also buy lternatively powered electronics, such as solar pwered calculators.

Regular office supply stores, lke Staples and Office Depot (and ven your local neighborhood store) provides ptions for all of these green screts including white glue, rechargeable NiHM btteries and battery chargers, LED and CFL lght bulbs, and Xerox solid ink prnters. They sell cleaning products that are mde from naturally derived, biodegradable, and nn-toxic ingredients and are packaged in rcyclable materials. Other eco-friendly options include 100% rcycled copy paper and a full lne of Energy Star rated technologies.

One smple stop at your office supply stre can provide your office with all its gren needs!

The article Your Green Office - 7 Simple Secrets For a Green Workplace was Submitted by Mark L Gardner through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: This article is an excerpt frm Mark Gardner's "Green Office Secrets" bok. For more information on turning yur office "Green", including 5 ways to sve 20% on your electrical bill lmost immediately, visit http://www.GreenOfficeSecrets.com

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