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illustration: Measurement Tools for Government

Duplex Copying Instead of Single-Sided Copying

Encouraging duplex copying instead of single-sided copying reduces the amount of paper discarded, and can lower your Agency’s paper-purchasing costs. You can reinforce duplex copying by setting the default options on printers and copiers to the duplex mode.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR USING THE MEASUREMENT TOOL

Use the worksheet below to calculate the waste prevention benefits and cost savings associated with duplex copying compared to single-sided copying.

The fields highlighted in YELLOW represent the variables that you need to enter for your City Agency. The GREY worksheet field contains default assumptions for calculation purposes; you can change these if the information is different for your Agency.

After completing the worksheet, click on “Calculate the savings!” to see the cost savings of switching to duplex copying. (Note: If you make subsequent changes to the worksheet, click on “Calculate the savings!” again to recalculate.)

Worksheet
QUANTITIES & COSTS
Number of cartons of paper purchased (per year)¹
Cost per carton of paper
Percentage estimate of paper discarded(out of the total quantity purchased)²

Assumes that a carton of paper contains 10 reams and weighs 50 pounds.
Assumes that waste paper is discarded through the City’s paper-recycling program.

Results: Annual totals and savings
TOTALS
Purchasing costs
City paper-recycling costs¹
Total costs
SAVINGS
Total savings due to switching to duplex copying²
Amount of waste prevented (in pounds)

Assumes City paper-collection and processing costs of $83 per ton.
Assumes that duplex copying reduces paper use and recycling by 30 percent.