Green Living Part 2

The second R in the Green Business formula stands for Re-use. Or as I saw recently on one of the Cable TV design shows, “repurpose”. Don’t you hate it when someone has to re-invent an already complicated language?

Re-use is a pretty straight forward process. At Munro Graphics we re-use in one fashion or another all packaging that we receive. Boxes are saved and re-used either for storage or as delivery containers. Ream wrappers are often not recyclable so we flatten them and reuse them as packaging material to keep odd size bundles from bouncing around in the carton on the UPS truck. To be honest I really hate to get a package that is full of styrofoam peanuts, especially at this time of year. There is so much static in the air that when you open the box those things stick to everything so we just pack them up and send them along like a chain letter to the next unsuspecting recipient. They say styrofoam lasts forever so there is no good reason to use it just once.

Re-using doesn’t just apply to the printing business. Remember the 70’s when every family room was paneled in Barn Board? Well real barn board comes from real barns! It may have gone out of style but the principle is the same. Many people want to remodel their homes and have perfectly good appliances and fixtures. These costly items can be re-used by others. I have become a great advocate for buying used. It’s good for your wallet and good for the planet. When you buy  used appliances, construction material or furniture, you are saving money, saving space in your local landfill and just think about the energy that is saved by manufacturing one less big bulky item. Check out Craigslist, Freecycle and your local Salvation Army Store or maybe your local charity has a thrift store as well.