Order for 210m envelopes sticks with some

THE Government’s green and technological credentials have taking a bit of a licking after it posted a massive order for 210 million envelopes.

The costly tender appears to signal an official reluctance to stamp out traditional snail mail for at least another three years despite the onslaught of the electronic age.

Although the Government Supplies Agency would not divulge the cost of the order — for commercially sensitivity reasons — the previous contract for envelopes cost taxpayers €1.3 million a year.

The envelopes are for the use of civil servants in each of the government departments, with the exception of the Department of Social and Family Affairs, which orders its own.

Ciarán Cuffe, Green Party TD, said although it was important not to lose touch with people who don’t have email access, it was also vital the Government leads the way in drastically cutting back on waste.

“It’s an awful lot of paper whatever way you look at it,” he said.

Mr Cuffe, whose party colleagues are ministers in the coalition government, called on civil servants to follow the lead of some private companies that give people the option to correspond without paper.

“Some utilities are going in that direction.

“My mobile phone bill comes to me as a text message every month and there’s no paper,” he said.

“I think government departments should be doing that, and every utility, whether it be Bord Gais or the phone companies, and within the government departments any communication with the general public using paper should give a no-paper, low carbon option.”

The supplier who signs, seals and delivers the government tender will have to provide standard coded envelopes, bespoke envelopes and, from “time to time” about 3.5 million envelopes which are outside the usual specifications, according to the official notice.

While prospective suppliers are encouraged to offer envelopes with “enhanced environmental features”, there is no clear requirement for the order to come from 100% recycled materials.

The Office of Public Works, which looks after the government’s stationery needs, said it had no formal policy on reducing, reusing and recycling envelopes.