Readers going green

Everybody’s doing it. Whether you are taking your grocery bags with you when you shop or turning out the lights on Earth Day, choosing green alternatives is becoming a norm for many people and businesses seeking to reduce their environmental footprint.

For some, it only requires a small change in habits, a new way of doing something that we have previously taken for granted.

I was reminded of this recently after receiving an e-mail from a reader. The sender, Dorothy Wellnitz, is a well-known individual in the Canadian rental industry. She served as the executive director for the Canadian Rental Association (CRA) for 21 years before her retirement. Today, she is a full-time mother and grandmother who likes to keep in touch with the rental industry by reading Canadian Rental Service magazine.

She writes: “I like getting the emagazine. I really think you could discontinue sending me the paper copy as I am able to read all the articles from my computer. I just think it is a waste of print and postage for me to get both.”

Since Canadian Rental Service launched a digital version of itself last year, along with a website and bi-weekly e-newsletter, I have received a handful of requests from readers asking to make sure that they keep receiving the printed version of the magazine. Of course they will, but Dorothy won’t, because she has chosen to make one of these small changes.

It’s costly to publish printed magazines and newspapers today. Look no further than the headlines earlier this year announcing a string of daily newspapers and well-known magazines in both Canada and the U.S. that have discontinued their printed versions to go entirely online.

The cost of paper, ink and postage have all risen. Think about the time, energy consumption and human effort it takes to get a printed publication to your doorstep considering the alternatives we now have.

This magazine has been publishing for more than 30 years. I’m sure Dorothy was getting the magazine when it was still being printed in black and white. Remember film?

Today, in addition to reading a printed version of Canadian Rental Service, you can also view it online, a complete digital image of the magazine just as it looks printed. Click the ‘next page’ tab and you will even hear the paper crumple as you flip virtual pages. You can check it out from our website at www.canadianrentalservice.com.

Having been a long-time subscriber to the magazine, I can imagine that cancelling that subscription, in favour of viewing the digital version on a computer monitor is a big change for Dorothy. Maybe it isn’t, but for the readers who called to keep their printed magazines coming, it is.

For readers like Dorothy, people who are going green, cancelling that subscription required a change in habit, a shift to a completely different medium; a small change with a larger purpose.

Compaction on demand
Compaction machinery is a bread and butter product for many rental companies and always a popular topic of conversation among rental operators.

This issue contains an extended section reviewing the latest compaction machinery and equipment for the rental market. I thank the suppliers and manufacturers who took the time to send me product literature and information about the compaction products they sell. These are the machines you profit from.

Enjoy this issue.

-Editor, Chris Skalkos