Okay, so this solution is probably the most obvious. Technology has the power to completely eradicate the need for paper in the first place.

Figure 1. Keyboard Warrior. (Carstens-Peters, 2017)

• We can send emails instead of letters –> reduces office paper use (primary cause of high paper use)
• Newspapers are moving online
• Kindles are becoming a more popular medium to read books
• University textbooks and lectures are moving online
• Receipts can be emailed to customers instead of printed out
• Money can be handled using online banking systems and card transactions

Other benefits:

• People are already gravitating towards increased use of technology in their daily lives (largely replaces need for paper)
• Must faster and more convenient as everything can be accessed and tranferred via the internet
• Safer book keeping (no risk of losing files) –> saves money and time that would be spent searching for files

Barriers:

• Technology can be damaging for the environment too
  • Many laptops are made out of plastics that are not degradable
  • Technology requires power, this is not always from renewable resources (helped by lower use –> lower screen brightness, close unused tabs etc)
  • Need to be replaced every few years –> leads to extra waste
• Transition to technology is expensive
  • Helped as many people already own laptops, computers, smartphones, kindles etc.
  • Regular replacement could further add to costs