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Recycled paper, particularly that which has a high percentage of post-consumer waste (PCW), uses fewer trees, requires less energy and water to produce, and emits fewer greenhouse gases during production. Send a message to manufacturers that demand for recycled paper products exists by making this eco-friendly choice the next time you need to stock the stationary cupboard at your office, school, or church.

How to choose recycled office paper goods

Way beyond copy paper, there are many recycled paper products from which to choose. Consider these options:

• file folders
• phone message pads and books
• notebooks and legal pads
• sticky notes
• envelopes
• stationary
• shopping bags
• gift boxes and wrapping paper
• facial tissue, toilet tissue, and paper towel
• packing boxes
• food service items

Find it! Recycled paper goods

Remember the days of jammed copiers and printers? Say goodbye to those painful memories because today, recycled paper performs as well as other types and the price has come down, too! Don’t forget to stock up on other paper goods when buying your next ream of paper.

Buying recycled paper helps you go green because...

• Purchasing 40 cases of copy paper made from 30 percent post-consumer paper saves seven trees, 2,100 gallons of water, 1,230 kWh of electricity, and 18 pounds of air pollution.[1]

Paper production is responsible for about a fifth of the total wood harvest worldwide, and about 93 percent of today's paper comes from trees.[2] A single sheet of copy paper might contain fibers from hundreds of different trees that have collectively traveled thousands of miles, potentially from timber logged in regions with ecologically valuable, biologically diverse habitat.[2][3]

The US market for office supplies generates upwards of $50 billion in retail sales every year. It’s clear that businesses have tremendous power to send clear signals about their environmental preferences to the paper industry.[4] Buying recycled paper ensures a market for a product that uses 60 percent less energy to produce than regular paper, reduces water pollution by 35 percent, air pollution by 74 percent, and helps preserve forests.[5]

Norm Thompson Outfitters, a catalog retailer, now uses 10 percent post-consumer recycled content in its catalogs, saving 4,400 tons of wood per year, 20 billion Btus of energy, 11.7 million gallons of water, and 990 tons of solid waste.[6]

Controversies

Just because something says “100% recycled” doesn’t necessarily mean it’s so. Some manufacturers use this term when their products actually don’t use any or very little post-consumer waste, but rather, wood chips, mill scraps and other pre-consumer waste. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued minimum post-consumer waste guidelines for procuring paper for the federal government, recommending at least 30 percent post-consumer content for most uncoated printing and writing paper.[7] Many state and local governments, businesses and organizations have adopted this policy.[8]

Glossary

• Btu (British thermal unit): A unit of energy used universally in the heating and cooling industries. It is defined as the unit of heat required to raise one pound of water by 1 °F.
• kWh : Kilowatt-hour, a measure of electric energy equal to the amount of electricity needed to run ten 100-watt light bulbs for one hour.
• post-consumer waste (PCW): Means there is some percentage of pulp made from paper once used by consumers that was recycled. The higher the percentage the better, and it’s becoming much easier to find products with 80 percent PCW and higher. The recycled labeling practice is regulated by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC).[9]
• pre-consumer waste: Term used to describe pulp made from wood chips, mill scraps and other waste left from paper processing. Legally, products with 100 percent pre-consumer waste are considered recycled, as no post-consumer waste is required by the Federal Trade Commission to use that term.[8]

External links

• Conservatree - Recycled Paper
• Environmental Defense - Q&A on the Environmental Benefits of Recycled Paper (PDF)
• EcoCycle - Why Recycle?
• US Environmental Protection Agency - Wastewise: Buy Recycled Links
• Natural Resources Defense Council - A Shopper's Guide to Home Tissue Products Made with Recycled Paper
• Forest Ethics A nonprofit forest protection organization
• Environmental Paper Network - Maximizing Recycled Content
• Co-op America - Wood Wise