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Triumph over waste

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.

I’ve been one of those men.

As long as I’ve worked here, I’ve complained about the enormous amount of wasted paper coming out of the newsroom fax machine.

I've complained but never acted.

We get plenty of important documents via fax including meeting agendas, police blotters and sports scores.

Unfortunately, we get an incredible amount of unsolicited faxes. I know every business does. But try to imagine the thousands of spam press releases we get every week from companies around the world.

Really, when are we going to write about a personalized curriculum format released Sunday in Utah?

Or about a woman who escaped death six times and “triumphed over adversities.”

The news release from an Indiana firm doesn’t mention where she lives, but I’m pretty sure it’s not in Rock or Walworth counties.

Also, the press release doesn’t say how many adversities. Maybe it was just one or two. That’s not much of a story.

Anyway, the paper would roll in on the fax and get tossed right in to the recycle bin. At least it was getting recycled, but what a waste!

A couple months ago, we got a new fax machine with e-mail capabilities. (Amazing, I know. It’s like we stepped into 1999!)

For a while, it was business as usual.

But our news clerk, Brenda Schmittinger, chose not to sit quietly and let evil triumph. She wanted to cut the amount of paper spewing out of the fax.

She talked to editor Scott Angus and local news editor Sid Schwartz.

Then she bugged them again.

And again.

And, after a round of permission-getting, string-pulling and training, Brenda has triumphed.

We have paperless faxing.

I love it! It’s so convenient in addition to being earth friendly. It’s meant changes for some of us, but that’s the way it goes.

It’s just one little fax machine in one little business in one little city.

But it’s better than nothing.

Tell me something new you’ve done to create less waste at work.