Online Bill Paying Saves 24 Square Feet of Forest per Year

[Mrs Behavin]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Think your family going green won't make a difference? Wrong, says a U.S. study released on Thursday that shows one household ditching paper statements for Web transactions would save 24 square feet of forest a year.
The PayItGreen Alliance said it believed this was the first detailed study commissioned to determine the impact of one individual household on the environment and it hoped to get across the message that every green step counted.
The study found the average U.S. household receives about 19 bills and statements from credit card companies and banks every month and makes about seven payments by paper each month.
By switching to electronic bills, statements and payments, the average American household would save 6.6 pounds of paper a year, save 0.08 trees, and not produce 171 pounds of greenhouse gases -- the equivalent of driving 169 miles.
The survey, whose results were vetted by the Environmental Protection Agency, said it would also mean avoiding the deforestation of 24 square feet of forest, the release of 63 gallons of wastewater into the environment, and save 4.5 gallons of gasoline used for mailing.
"Individuals who think they are only one person and can't really have an impact should re-evaluate their position. Even small contributions can have a impact when aggregated," said Craig Vaream, a member of the PayItGreen Alliance and JPMorgan Chase.
JPMorgan Chase is one of about 16 members of the alliance which is made up of financial services companies and also includes Bank of America and the Federal Reserve Banks.
The alliance is lead by NACHA, the non-profit electronics payment association, that represents more than 11,000 financial institutions who are encouraging customers to conduct more transactions online.
The group was set up in 2007 to promote the positive environmental impact of choosing electronic payments, bills, and statements instead of paper.

Still mail bills? Study says go green, go online | Technology | Reuters

 

[GraceAbounds]

Online bill pay is such an easy thing to do to help conserve and be a good steward.

 

[TheOriginalJames]

Well, I pay 5/10 bills online... 2 of my online bills that I normally pay by check cost 1.25 and 1.75 to pay. When I pay 41 cents per stamp, that isn't economical to me.

 

[Veronica]

I pay almost all of mine online.

 

[Tim]

I don't think I have a single bill that I don't pay on-line... everything is online for me... except gas & food :dunno

 

[TheOriginalJames]

I don't think I have a single bill that I don't pay on-line... everything is online for me... except gas & food :dunno

Including your gas bill?

Gas and Electric if I pay online they go through a 3rd company who charges you to use their service (even though you have no choice) which I think is retarded. So those will be paper bills. My water/sewer bill I pay by check and drop off at the city county building.

 

[gLing]

Forests are a renewable resource.

 

[TalkWhatever]

I like to handle as many transactions as possible via the web.

 

[Natasha]

Automatic draft is the way to go, for me. The only thing I don't do by automatic draft is my Nextel bill and that's just b/c I never know what it's gonna run due to the text messaging that I always seem to go over on. LOL!!!

I also need to set up my car payment for automatic draft again. I had it done and then I had some fraudulent charges on my account that, even though I got the money back, it caused problems w/ the automatic draft. I stopped it to keep from having further problems, but I've never started it back. I need to put that on my to do list!!!

 

[TalkWhatever]

I don't do auto drafts because I still like to control the transactions. If I need to sit on a bill for two more days then I want to do that. Autodrafts prevent me from having that control.