Having the right equipment and making sure the copiers are working properly affects paper usage, too. An even better solution to the paper problem is, if you don't absolutely have to print, don't print at all. When necessary, they printed only the pages they needed and only on the days they needed them. With far less printing, the company replaced costly high speed leased printers with less expensive ones, saving still more money. The facility's paper consumption was reduced by 73 percent between 1986 and 1995.
Packaging materials make up about one-third of the United States' total waste stream.
Recycling containers and reducing the use of packaging materials can keep waste costs down. For example, McDonald's now recycles most of its corrugated shipping containers, diverting thirteen tons of corrugated board per store per year out of the landfill. Since 1990, McDonald's Corporation has made many packaging changes to reduce its costs. Less and lighter packaging means lower costs for supplies and freight. These pallets contain half of all the hardwood timber cut down and comprise 10 percent of all lumber used in this country.