BROOMFIELD, Colo. — Viega LLC will reduce paper waste by 32 tons a year by eliminating printed instructions in favor of QR codes.

Beginning in October, the printed instructions inside the packages of most ProPress, MegaPress, and PureFlow products made in the United States will be removed in favor of a QR code printed on the product label. A scan of the code will send the user to the product instruction page online. It’s estimated that this will eliminate more than 6 million pieces of paper a year.

Having the instructions in digital format means any updates are immediately and automatically reflected.

“Viega LLC is committed to reducing its environmental impact in ways big and small,” said Adam Botts, portfolio manager for piping systems. “This is an example of a simple measure that, in total, will save an enormous amount of paper without inconveniencing customers. This absolves them of having to recycle or dispose of the instruction sheets properly. We look forward to rolling out additional initiatives, both seen and unseen, that will have positive impacts on our company footprint.”