E-statements, Another Step Toward Zero Waste
E-statements are a growing trend and this is one bandwagon we should all be happy to jump on.
The average person receives multiple bank statements, credit card statements, and bills every month. Multiply that by just the people in one small town and that’s hundreds, if not thousands, of paper statements, some even having multiple pages. That’s a lot of unnecessary paper being used, as well as envelopes to send them. (And those envelopes usually contain plastic windows, which makes them non-recyclable).
Junk Mail Is a Lot of Waste Paper
Most of it isn’t recycled paper, and most of them just get thrown away. And while paper is recyclable and compostable, most of it just gets thrown into plastic garbage bags. In there it doesn’t have a chance to begin biodegrading and just takes up space in a landfill somewhere. The alternative? E-statements!
I’m lucky enough to not get a lot of statements in the first place. Usually just a monthly bank statement, a couple of hospital bills I’m still paying off from breaking my face a few years ago, a phone/internet bill (though no electric bill, thank you Solar Power!), and a yearly webhost and virus protection bill. This month I succeeded in getting the last of the bills/statements I do receive, as e-statements. (The exception being one that doesn’t offer e-statements because they just haven’t stepped into the 21st century yet!).
Organizing Your E-statements
If you’re worried about switching to e-statements because of organization concerns, I’ve found it’s actually even easier to keep everything organized digitally. You can just create one bills/statements file on your computer. Then you can fill it with subfolders for all your individual bank and credit card statements and bills. When the statements come by email, just download the pdfs directly into their specific file, keeping everything organized and accessible.
If it ends up that you do need a hardcopy at some point, you’ll have everything neat and ready so it can be easily printed when you need it. And as an added benefit, it’s a total space saver. You can save many years worth of statements on your hard drive, without taking up any added shelf or drawer space with binders.
Also, since you’ll already be on your device when the e-statements come in, it makes it easy to schedule payment reminders on your phone or email. That way you never have to worry about forgetting to make a payment. (And bonus points if you nix the paper check, stamp, and envelope by just paying online instead).
E-statements can also save you a bit of money. Since e-statements save time, paper, and ink for the companies who send them out, it equals money-savings for them. So many companies, particularly banks, have begun charging a monetary fee for people who still want to receive paper statements. Switching to e-statements will save you paying that fee every month.
So if you haven’t yet, consider switching to e-statements. It saves a lot of paper, and is one more step on the journey to zero waste.
Written by Amber Reifsteck, The Woodland Elf
The information provided on this website is for general information purposes only. If you choose to rely on the information on this website, you do so at your own risk and you assume responsibility for the results. (Full disclaimer here)
Enjoy this post? Click here to subscribe by email and get new posts delivered to your inbox.Ads by Google
