College students like paper, too: 81 percent, for example, say they always or often use paper tools to prepare for exams. So there you go — an (admittedly promotional) plug for good old paper.

Despite the profusion of gadgets we use in our everyday work, U.S. office workers still go through about 10,000 sheets of paper annually, with about 70% ending up in the trash.

You don’t have to swear paper off 100% in order to make an impact on how much you throw away or recycle. Try it out for a couple weeks and see how much you can cut down!

But reducing paper use is still one of the best ways companies, government agencies and institutions can help the environment during the course of day-to-day activities.

Cutting back on paper may seem “so 1990s” given the current focus of environmental organizations on climate change and related global issues. But reducing paper use is still one of the best ...