1000 Flowers for the Planet - #143 Avoid Using Staples

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #143 Avoid Using Staples

I found a website that states a billion tonnes of steel was used every year just in the manufacture of staples. Unfortunately I cannot substantiate that figure with any other reliable source, but even if we only used a tonne of steel every year, that’s a lot of ore out of the ground for a tiny piece of metal simply to keep two pieces of paper together. Think about what we’re doing when we grab the stapler and snap away mindlessly – why are we doing this? Do we really need the two pieces of paper to be stuck to each other? Could a paperclip be used instead? Is it to keep things together permanently or temporarily? If permanently, then a staple is likely the most useful method, but if it is only for a temporary reason, reconsider the task and see if there is a different way of approaching it.