GRAND Magazine - January/February 2019 - 22

protecting our earth
preference. Our goals are to see retailers offer digital receipts and
to use better paper for customers who need a paper slip.
Currently, we are urging CVS, one of the largest retailers in the
country and a company infamous for its long receipts, to improve
its receipt practices by offering phenol-free receipt paper and
making its digital receipt option more accessible for customers.
Visit www.greenamerica.org/cvs to ask the pharmacy to make
positive changes!
Other ways to take action to avoid these impacts include:
* When you're paying, make sure to ask your cashier not to
print you a receipt.
* If you need a paper receipt, fold the printed side and
handle only the non-printed side to curb chances of exposure to
bisphenols.
* Ask stores you patronize to offer digital receipts and to
use phenol-free paper.
By voicing concerns on toxins and waste, we not only encourage companies to address receipts, but to also target other problem areas in their stores. Join Green America today in telling businesses that sustainable choices matter and their decisions have an
impact on our health and environment.
Employees are at greater risk than shoppers for contact with
toxic chemicals, as the Center for Disease Control reports that
workers who have regular contact with receipts have over 30
percent more BPA found in their bodies. With growing concern
from customers surrounding BPA, companies have sought out
"non-BPA" paper, but the typical replacement is BPS, a similar chemical which research indicates has similarly detrimental
effects. According to research published in Environmental Science
Technology, nearly 90 percent of human exposure to BPS comes
from thermal paper receipts coated with the substance.
This makes receipts not recyclable. When well-intentioned
people try to recycle thermal paper coated with bisphenols, it can
contaminate other recycled fiber.
22 GRAND

JANUARY FEBRUARY 2019

Fortunately, many solutions from digital receipts to phenol-free
paper exist, but we need to urge more retailers to offer them.
That's why Green America launched Skip the Slip, a campaign to
raise awareness about how we can tackle these issues surrounding
receipts.
Skip the Slip highlights cost-effective digital and non-toxic
solutions for retailers to protect their employees and customers,
and reduce their impacts on the environment, while reducing
fraud and ensuring efficient transactions. Green America sees
these goals being achieved through a variety of solutions and recognize that every company, from family-owned, local food trucks
to large corporations with thousands of stores, will have different
needs for receipts based on available technology and customer

Beth Porter is Green America's Climate & Recycling
Director. She leads campaigns identifying the waste
of resources and energy in varying sectors and
proposes solutions. She is also the author of the
book "Reduce, Reuse, Reimagine: Sorting Out the
Recycling System."

https://www.facebook.com/GRANDmagazine/ https://www.twitter.com/grandMmagazine https://www.greenamerica.org/skiptheslip https://www.greenamerica.org/ https://www.greenamerica.org/

GRAND Magazine - January/February 2019

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