Many people have heard the phrase “If everyone in UK offices saved just one staple a day, we’d save 72 tonnes of metal a year” courtesy of Wasteonline. It’s an alarming statistic. And at Three Green Desk we’ve said for years that everything, even a single staple has a carbon footprint. But do we just see statistics like this and think it’s interesting, or do we see them an act?

Here’s a little story – it’s about a staple. It wasn’t always a staple. Born into a large family of steel, it had a world of opportunities ahead of it. It could have been part of a bridge, providing service to millions of people; perhaps part of a boat bringing the world together or even, in a more creative lifetime, have been a beautiful ornament.

This is where many in his family went. Sadly, for this small sample of steel, he was torn away and turned into a staple. At first he was delighted at the practical service he’d offer. But then he realised his limitations.

After being packed in a box alongside dozens of others like him, he was forced into a stapler to await his finest, and last, moment. Then it happened, he was swiftly holding together a range of documents., making the user very happy.

But here he was to stay until eventually the user no longer needed these documents. But unlike many in his family, he was deemed too small to bother recycling. Instead he just went to the bin and spent the rest of his days living in a hole somewhere around the UK.

This staple’s not alone. In fact, there are millions just like him, who, after their single use, are cast into landfill around the country. One staple might seem small; insignificant. But put them all together and that’s a lot of steel – a lot of resources – going to waste.

So let the little staple lead a more productive, more sustainable life and work away from staples. After all, that’s exactly why the stapleless stapler was made – providing all the functionality of the average stapler, without wasting a single resource.