To the editor:

We hear so much in today’s world about saving energy, conserving resources and other environmental concerns.

I just finished writing checks for the monthly bills. I am overwhelmed at the amount of waste included in these bills sent in the mail. There is usually some slick color-printed flier trying to goad the customer into spending some more of their hard-earned money on additional “services” or other money pits.

There are such fliers in credit card bills, utility bills, subscription renewals and so on. The cost of paper and printing services for all this junk mail by public utilities and city services must be enormous. I would wager that most of this trash included in your water bill, gas bill, electric bill and phone bill goes in the trash. And the cost is an add-on to the cost of providing the services.

I recall a few years (decades?) back hearing about how the intrusion of technology into our society would create a “paperless society.” And yet all of the above plus the waste of paper in many office environments is a huge loss of resources. I have worked in several office environments, and the largest wastepaper basket, which was always full, was at the office printing station.

Those who are making a large issue of energy and resource conservation need to give some thoughtful consideration to this very evident mismanagement of resources and the costs that are imposed on customers of public utilities and other services.