When my shopping is complete and I sling my bags over my shoulder, I cringe when the check out dude passes me a receipt.

Our lives are increasingly paperless, a state of affairs that benefits everyone. How many of us purchase the majority of our goods on a credit card? If you’re raising your hand along with me, we share the convenience that is tracking all transactions online and without paper.

As you know, my diet consists of mainly animal products, fresh fruit and veggies. As such, my food has a short shelf life. Rarely does a day pass in which I don’t stroll into a grocery store. We are all tuned in to how powerful it can be, environmentally, to bring our own reusable bags. Recently, I’ve been smacked in the face with an issue that pains me. I’m currently searching for ways to conquer the ridiculousness that is receipt distribution. From Huffington Post:

Over 250 million gallons of oil, 10 million trees and 1 billion gallons of water are consumed each year in the creation of receipts for the United States alone…

The environmental impact is staggering, for little to no payoff. The majority of Americans have little use for receipts. Even if we say “No receipt necessary,” the checker prints it out and tosses it in the trash. Ughhh. From alletronic:

Approximately 2,278 lbs of trash is produced while producing a single ton of receipt paper. This means 1,457,920,000 lbs of trash are being fed into our landfill. This produces enough CO2 emissions to significantly damage the earth’s ozone layer, leading to global warming.

Creationist or Darwinist, those are ugly stats.

Walk into an Apple store to make a purchase and the friendly employee offers to email you your receipt. There’s no paper to get lost, torn or stained, making it more consumer friendly and much easier on the environment. Need to track business expenses at tax time or budget your groceries for the next month? A digital copy of all your receipts makes the process much easier.

Unfortunately, the end consumer can do little alone to change the habits of businesses. Yesterday, I was at Whole Foods and specifically asked the woman helping me, “If I tell you that I don’t need a receipt prior to you scanning my items, does it still print automatically?” She looked at me and nodded yes sheepishly.

However, more retailers are moving to digital receipts. Outlets like Gap, Nordstrom and Best Buy already offer the option. Ask for your receipt to be provided to you electronically, not on paper. If the joint in which you’re shopping doesn’t offer the option, let them know you’d prefer it by asking to meet with the manager. One person alone may be met with resistance, but the power of consumers united is insurmountable.

Whether paper receipts or any other issue important to you as a customer, speak loudly and persistently. Be sure your voice is heard and never accept the narrative “it’s the way it’s always been done.” Generations to come will be grateful.

Kap