Column

Everyday in every office around the city, and in every city, town, and elsewhere, the mail man or the courier delivers tens, if not hundreds of envelopes.

Most of them are made of virgin paper, only a few are of recycled paper.

Despite the fact that we are almost wedded to the email, many communications are duplicated. Those who want their news or product to be featured, do not take chances: they email the info, sms it and also send in a hard copy just in case you don’t check the first two options.

It is indeed the age of instant convenience. Gum bottles are messy and have been banished from most tables. The gum stick is not trusty enough, and one can easily open a sealed envelope. Besides as many packages also carry CDs and photographs, it is easier to ensure their safety with means stronger than a gum stick.

The stapler and the scotch tape come into play at this point.

The stapler is a quick and efficient tool for closing envelopes. The cello tape seals the envelope effectively, ensuring tamperproof delivery. So, most envelopes at the point of dispatch carry a fair amount of both.

The courier adds his share. He gums his strip of paper on the envelope, and then for reasons known to him staples the sides of the envelope. I think it is he who does it, because there is uniformity to the way the staples are put, regardless of where the packet originated.

Now you need to watch me receiving a package and trying to open it. I like to reuse paper, and that includes note paper, writing paper, envelopes et al.

I navigate the cello tape, and peel it off, before trying to open the staples that pepper the top and sides.

But there are times when I am led to believe that the people who wrapped the cello tape trained at the mummy wrapping institute, and as I struggle with the reams of tape, my good intentions fade away in the face of my ire.

Still trying to save the envelope for reuse I wield the scissors and cut the top away carefully. Then, triumphantly reach into the interiors for the prize epistle.

A brief tug of war ensues, as the staples hold on tight to the precious contents and finally, more often than not, in a burst of irritation, I rip the envelope apart to get at the reluctant contents. End of one perfectly good, reusable envelope.

The story is sadder when the envelope in question is one of the reinforced green ones, to prevent tearing. Ripping one apart is a true task, and a more tragic waste of good material.

More so in a world where wood is sparse, paper prices are climbing and where recycling of paper is not completely a practice, more often than not, a lot of the paper we throw goes into landfills, and what does not get submerged in filth ends up being eaten by goats and particularly hungry cows.

I am just wondering whether there is another danger inherent in that last mentioned fact, whether the animals that chew on our sheets of waste paper and envelopes will find the staples and sticky tape a digestive hazard.

But to get back to the main story.

If each of us tries to reuse all the paper we get, would it not save the environment considerably from quicker depletion thanks to lesser demand?

I read somewhere that if each person used one staple less, the amount of iron that could be saved in a year could build a few houses. Is that not something else to consider?

I don’t know about the benefits of using or not using cello tape, no one has researched this as yet, but surely discarded tape is of no use and might not even be biodegradable thanks to the stubborn nature of the product.

Let us then try and convince the myriad courier companies we patronise to abhor the stapler, and let us make use of the implement ourselves in a more stringent manner, rationing the little bracket devils with care. Let us pledge to reuse every envelope and sheet of blank paper to its life’s limit, except when a new envelope is completely necessary.

It does not take much effort, and costs nothing. In fact the savings to the company we work for might be considerable (and the money saved can be channelled into rewards for hard work.)

It’s worth a thought. And we would be the richer for it in the long run if we put the thought into practice.

Email: ssaran@dnaindia.net