The USPTO issued approximately 337,000 patents during the 2019 fiscal year, and in each case the applicant received a printed ribbon copy with the official government seal, like this one:

While there are certainly cases where the applicant needs this ribbon copy, many of these ribbon copies are winding up in the recycle bins almost immediately upon receipt. Some applicants have decided that the cost of shipping, cataloging, and storing these documents outweighs the cost of simply obtaining a replacement if and when needed (e.g, by contacting the Certification Division at 1-800-972-6382).

Not only is a lot of paper being wasted, but a lot of government effort is being spent printing these ribbon copies. Presumably part of the issue fee is being used to cover this cost, meaning that if printing was reduced, the issue fee could be reduced.

One idea is to have the USPTO provide ribbon copies upon request, rather than as a default, assuming it would allow everyone to save some time and effort, not to mention saving some trees. Another idea is to consider whether electronic certificates could be provided - we live in a digital world where millions of dollars are transferred around from bank to bank with electronic certificates - are patents so different that they require old world paper? While there may be regulation or even statutory changes required, perhaps it is worth consideration.