Extraordinary sustainability efforts are happening amid the constant shuffling of envelopes and boxes in UMD's mailroom Innovative ideas to reduce our shared carbon footprint by reducing, reusing, and recycling are abundant in the Darland Basement, all while processing over 1,000 pieces of mail per day. Some examples of the 3 R's include:

REDUCE

*Staff send back undeliverable mail with a sticker which states  "please remove from mailing list"

*Distilled water is used instead of chemicals to clean the mail processing machine

*Staff efficiently tapes on labels to reduce amount of tape used

*Printer paper has already been used on one side

*To eliminate the use of chemicals, the staff uses distilled water to clean the mail processing machine instead of a chemical treatment. The water works just as well, and no chemicals were needed!

REUSE

*Reused envelopes, boxes, and packaging materials are given to faculty, staff, or students

*UPS pre-printed labels have extra blank space, which staff cuts off to be reused for other labels

*Staff print on paper which has already been used on one side

RECYCLE!

*Donated used envelopes, boxes, and packing material are given out to faculty, staff, and students upon request

*Mail Room is a drop-off site for ink cartridge recycling

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

Take inspiration from the sustainability efforts that are going on in our very own mailroom.

·         Mailroom staff don't just recycle a piece of paper that has been used on one side- not yet!  One-sided sheets are used in the printers around the office. Not only are they reusing, but they are also reducing.

·         Donate your extra materials- the mailroom sends out a request about twice a year for packaging peanuts, and donations of boxes and envelopes are always welcome.

·         Try to minimize your packaging- use an appropriate sized box or envelope, and don't over-tape.

·         Remove yourself from unwanted mailing lists.

·         Don't have the right size box for your shipment?  That's fine, check with the mailroom! Cardboard boxes in good shape can be brought to the mailroom, where they are given out free of charge to UMD faculty, staff, and students.  Envelopes have a similar closed loop system; just drop off any type of envelope, from standard to manila, and feel good knowing it will be reused.

·         Forgot about packaging?  The mailroom has everything from packing peanuts to air cushions to make sure your items arrive at their destination safely!