Reducing your paper waste is a great way to fight climate change. When trees are cut down to produce paper, a lot of energy consumption and habitat destruction is involved. But there’s good news – preventing trees from becoming trash is easy!

Start by reducing that pile of junk mail. Remove yourself from most unsolicited mailing lists by visiting the Federal Trade Commission website, or contact the sender directly. It’s also simple to pay your bills online – contact your utility providers to opt out of paper statements.

If you buy something you aren’t going to return, ask the cashier not to print a receipt. Want to go a step further? Advocate for the adoption of “opt-in” receipt policies at your local vendors – receipts will only be printed if the customer requests one, a great way to reduce cost and waste.

And finally, if paper is a necessity, elect for a post-consumer recycled content product to help reduce greenhouse gas production.