The receipt that
stays uncut.
Thermal paper is the most-printed thing in retail and the least-recycled. We replaced it with a coin-sized chip and a quick math check on the impact.
The cumulative effect
of not printing.
Methodology — full lifecycle CO₂e per thermal receipt averaged across EU paper-mill data, EPD reports and a 2023 KU Leuven study. Read the calc.
Thermal paper is the worst kind of single-use.
Thermal paper is not paper
It is wood pulp coated in a developer chemical — usually Bisphenol A or its near-identical cousin Bisphenol S. That coating is what reacts with heat to print, and it is what disqualifies the receipt from the recycling stream.
BPA goes through skin
Cashiers absorb measurable amounts during a shift. The European Chemicals Agency has classified BPA as a substance of very high concern. BPS, its replacement in many "BPA-free" rolls, has a similar profile.
Most receipts are binned in 30 seconds
Industry surveys put the average receipt in a wastebasket within half a minute of being printed. The carbon and the chemicals stay around much longer.
Where the 3.6 g comes from.
We use a conservative full-lifecycle figure, peer-reviewed and rounded down. If you want to plug different numbers in, the spreadsheet is open.
Add your counter to the
running total.
Every till that switches contributes its own avoidance. We surface yours on the dashboard so you can put it on your About page or a sticker on the door.