Now GSA staff simply type their letters and memos on the appropriate computer template. Durable products can return investments for years. Workers at Berkeley, CA's Building Maintenance department are enthusiastic about the high quality, single-polymer plastic lumber benches they bought for city streets and parks two years ago. They particularly appreciate that the benches' composition makes it easy to remove graffiti and repair holes and damage, and it holds up well even under determined skateboarders. Initially, the benches cost more than comparable wood products, but their significantly reduced maintenance requirements made them very competitive over the long run.
Durability sometimes results from manufacturers rethinking how to meet clients' needs.
Changing the way that you use some types of equipment can cut down on purchasing requirements. Now people have to manually choose single-sided if they want that alternative. As a result, far less paper is used. Reducing toxicity, whether in a product's effect on employees or on the environment, is also source reduction. The City of San Francisco's Paint Shop runs a still for cleaning and reusing paint thinner, returning more than 95 percent of it for reuse.