Many believe that the past can teach us a lot about the future with statements such as “history sure does have a strange way of repeating itself” to illustrate the point. While that sentiment may often hold true we can also look to current trends as predictors of the future and for this blog, we will look at 3 trending paper drive types that very well may be able to provide a little Nostradomus-like insight into what is on the horizon for the paperless and digital document management industries. Most communities enjoy a good “drive” or common cause to come together on and local paper-related initiatives that bring people together are no different.

Social “drives” and gatherings have long been a part of the American fabric and even though various types and causes have come and gone one thing remains and that is the fact that “drives” that are trending have a lot to teach us about life and paper as a subject of foresight is no different. So you may be asking yourself what are the current trending paper drive types that can teach us about a paperless tomorrow? Let’s take a look at three of the most popular categories of paper drives that are taking place across the country right now to gain a better feel of what we might expect in the long term for digital document management, paper scanning, and paperless products and services.

Trending Paper “Drive” Type #1: Newspaper & Magazine Recycling Drives – Trending Down

For proof of this paper “drive” trend, we can look to the end of the paper recycling drive for boy scout Troop 339 in Fremont as after over 43 years of yearly newspaper and magazine collecting and 8.1 million pounds of recycled paper the tradition and fundraiser is finally coming to an end. The reason newspaper drives are trending down is that not only are newspapers becoming less prevalent with many readers switching to digital subscriptions, but more news companies are printing fewer and smaller issues per week while others are simply having to shut down completely. This certainly points to a future of less physical paper news and entertainment sources as digital media options will continue to grow and thrive.

Trending Paper “Drive” Type #2: Shredding Drives – Trending Up

For confirmation of this paper “drive” trend, we can turn to the recent paper collection and shredding event hosted by the City of Jacksonville’s Keep Jacksonville Beautiful as part of America Recycles Day. Participants of the program can receive up to three free trees for taking part in the recycling and shredding of paper they want to get rid of. The reason why paper recycling, shredding, and tree exchange drives are trending up is that there is an intense global focus on protecting the environment and fighting against such issues as global warming and deforestation. With more and more of these paper shredding and recycling drives popping up in cities and towns across the U.S. we can only envision these types of services increasing in importance over the upcoming years.

Trending Paper “Drive” Type #3: Election Mailers – Trending Neutral 

For evidence of this paper “drive” trend we can reference a Northern Nevada election mailer printing company “Reno Type” which expects to have 60 to 70 jobs pending during regular business periods, but 180 plus jobs during a typical election cycle. The reason we can deduct this is trending neutral is that the job orders have not been increasing during current election periods and the fact that many studies show that direct mail is not as advantageous as it once was. On the flipside, paper election materials are still very important due to the nature and subject matter of their purpose giving themselves a future net neutral position as a battle between old-school marketing tactics and digital advertising continues to pull the tug-of-war election mailer battle to the middle.

As you can see there is still a wide variety of paper and paperless “drive” trends to examine and by doing so we can get a feel for what the future of digital documentation management, scanning, and shredding may hold. Do you have plans to participate in a paper or paperless community “drive” in the new year of 2023?