Despite the rising use of computers, which were thought to herald the day of the "paperless office," office paper is one of the fastest growing segments of the waste stream, according to INFORM, a nonprofit environmental research organization.
Paper makes up 40 percent of the waste stream. The largest segments are corrugated cardboard and newspaper. Office paper, 4 percent of the waste stream in 1988, is projected to make up 6.4 percent of waste by 2010. INFORM says that if the number of office photocopies were reduced by 20 percent and the number of double-sided copies increased by 50 percent, $560 million could be saved in paper and disposal fees.