A program to reduce paper waste from computer labs and the Belk Library saved Elon University tens of thousands of dollars in supplies and energy costs last year as faculty, students and campus visitors cut back on printer use by almost 70 percent. Details...
Not only has the print management program reduced the amount of paper produced by the school, it diminished the amount of energy used by campus printers, as well as traditional “wear and tear” that impacts how long a machine can remain in service.
The reduction in printer copies also helps Elon move toward its new goal of promoting environmental sustainability. In his August address to faculty and staff, President Leo M. Lambert called for the university community to reduce waste, increase recycling and cut back on energy consumption.
The print management program does all three.
“This is an environmental issue, not just a cost-savings issue,” said Chris Fulkerson, assistant vice president for technology. “It used to kill me to think of all that paper that was just being thrown away.”
Until last fall, Elon students could print an unlimited number of pages from a university computer lab, and students often left behind large stacks of paper on a printer when they saw a document or journal article was longer than they expected to read. Sometimes, Fulkerson said, students printed multiple copies of a class assignment by mistake.
That led to more than 10 million sheets of paper being printed during the 2004-2005 academic year. The print management program, which requires the use of Phoenix cards at a computer printer, allows students a set amount of free printing during each academic term. For example, students may print about 660 pages (worth $40) during fall semester and Winter Term. Students receive $30 printing credits for spring semester and summer sessions.
The average undergraduate student printed about 1,250 pages from a university computer lab during the 2004-2005 academic year. That number dropped to an average of 375 pages when the print management program took effect. Less than 1 percent of the student population exceeded the limit for free copies last year.
“We printed slightly over 3 million sheets of paper last year,” Fulkerson said. “We’re trying to be better with the environment.”
Money saved by the program gets reinvested in new campus technologies, Fulkerson said. And students said the print management program makes them reconsider what they need to print for their class studies.
“I would print out really long articles,” said Elizabeth Foggie, a senior philosophy and biology major from Florida. “It wasn’t like I wasn’t using what I printed, but there were other options that may be better for the environment … I’ve started to save PDFs to flash drives.”
Tim Brown, a senior communications/film major from Winston-Salem, N.C., said he, too, reconsidered his use of the printers when the university started tracking individual habits last fall.
“Just knowing you have a limit, you can take that one extra step, thinking about what you know you need to print out,” Brown said.