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No matter the type of printer you have, the cost of the toner over the life of the printer is likely to far exceed the upfront price of that printer. Yet, you can lower toner costs while still getting quality products and reducing associated environmental impacts by choosing remanufactured and/or high-yield toner cartridges.

Servers are the backbone of our networks and online applications. Data centers are also some of the most energy intensive buildings to operate, consuming 10 to 50 times the energy per floor space of a typical commercial office building. Data centers are also water intensive - among the top-ten water-consuming industrial or commercial industries in the U.S. While smart data center design is key to reducing impacts, the server equipment itself plays a significant role in reducing both energy and cooling loads within data centers.

Print services are often used for high-volume print jobs, mailers, and specialty printing. If your agency directly uses the resulting print job materials, the paper used for the print job must contain a minimum of 30% post-consumer recycled content to comply with California’s Senate Bill 1383, aka. SB 1383, which went into effect January 2022.

Paper fiber is a common material for many office supplies - from sticky notes to storage boxes. Paper office supplies purchased directly by staff must contain a minimum of 30% post- consumer recycled content when equal in cost and function to comply with California’s Senate Bill 1383, aka SB 1383, which went into effect January 2022.

Although all “antimicrobial” products have risks, many conventional disinfectants, such as chlorine bleach, pose more serious risks to custodial workers and building occupants because they contain active ingredients that have been found to cause asthma, cancer, skin sensitization, or other health hazards. Yet, surface disinfectants with more benign health and environmental impacts than conventional disinfectants are readily available, cost effective, and have equivalent or greater efficacy in killing bacteria, viruses, and fungi.

Janitorial paper products are single-use items primarily used in facility restrooms and break rooms. They may be purchased as stand-alone items or included in a custodial services contract. Any janitorial paper products purchased directly by staff must contain a minimum of 30% post-consumer recycled content to comply with California’s Senate Bill 1383, aka SB 1383, which went into effect January 2022.

Purchasing more sustainable refrigerant-using appliances and HVAC equipment can significantly reduce energy consumption and contribute less to global warming than conventional alternatives.

While food service ware may not be the first thing you think of when planning an event, being thoughtful about how food and beverages are served can support reducing waste and exposure to toxic chemicals, among other sustainability goals. As part of your planning, first assess whether reusables are available and practical for the application. If disposables are necessary, be sure to also check with your hauler/composter/facility ahead of time regarding what types of items they accept.

Making good choices when purchasing food service ware products can be quite complicated. That’s because not all food ware marketed as “compostable” gets composted at the large-scale commercial composting facilities that process our county’s food scraps and food-soiled paper. Many factors play a role, including the ability to distinguish compostable and non-compostable food ware, the food ware item’s thickness as well as time spent going through the composting process. While molded paper/fiber products generally break down, some other products—even if certified by the Biodegradable Products

This Fact Sheet provides important information for those wishing to purchase remanufactured toner cartridges. Buying remanufactured toner cartridges and recycling empty cartridges are easy ways to reduce the environmental impact of these products while saving substantial amounts of money. Any office equipment that uses a toner cartridge, rather than requiring toner to be added to the machine, should be able to use a remanufactured toner cartridge. Many toner cartridge remanufacturers both supply customers with remanufactured toner cartridges and collect spent cartridges. Updated September 2017