Sustainability the watchword at Document Solutions Center

Kermit sang about how tough it is being green, but UMKC’s new Document Solutions Center can teach him a new tune.

First on the list of environmental advantages is the online order feature. No travel, no gas burned, no time lost that could be put to better use. After you fill out the order form, a UMKC MoCode, credit or debit card makes it official. Usually within 11 business hours, the courier delivers the finished product to your office or classroom while on his rounds.

The products used by the DSC are chosen for their low environmental impact. Most of the paper used at the DSC is Forest Stewardship Council-certified and contains from 30% to 100% recycled content. When a new shipment of paper arrives at the DSC, it is left to sit on the shelves from 24 to 48 hours. This allows the paper to “climatize” to the production environment. This practice cuts down paper curl and misfeeds, which ultimately cuts down on waste.

The toner DSC uses is made by a less wasteful process than standard toner. For other materials, there are boxes for recycled consumables – cartridges, drums, fusers, toner and developer – strategically located throughout the DSC itself. When necessary, DSC cooperates with available UMKC recycling services. Anything that can be recycled is put into the proper bins for pickup.

Shipping boxes – made with recycled content – are broken down for recycling and scrap materials are used for packing and shipping. Chemical waste is disposed of appropriately. After a period of inactivity, low-energy smart machines put themselves in the power save mode. Lights and equipment are turned off when not needed.

The DSC staff is committed to eliminating waste at every opportunity. One example: the DSC manager and a print shop employee salvaged a box of stapled white paper “books” and some folded gold 8 1/2 X 11 paper destined for the trash. Instead, it’s at the Berkley Childcare Center, sitting on a paper shelf in the art studio waiting for young artists and writers to put it to use.

Studies conducted by Xerox show that their processes will yield an average energy savings of as much as $15,000 a year and save 33 pallets of paper. Kaye Johnston, UMKC’s Sustainability Coordinator, shared some other stunning figures.

“One ton of recycled paper saves about two tons of lumber and 24,000 gallons of water,” Johnston said. “That preserves 17 mature trees, and landfill space the size of a pick-up truck will go unused. Every effort makes a difference.”

Xerox did a baseline assessment of UMKC’s sustainability practices in the area of copying and printing, then set some desirable outcomes. In most cases, UMKC can achieve a 4- to 5-times-better result by adhering to the DSC options.

It is estimated that print output costs can be reduced by 40%. That’s a lot of green.