Recycled paper


Recycled paper is a good deal for everyone. Each 20 cases of recycled paper saves 17 trees, 390 gallons of oil, 7,000 gallons of water, and 4,100 kwh of energy. It also eliminates 60 pounds of air-polluting emissions and saves eight cubic feet of landfill space.

The three arrows of the recycling symbol indicate a loop, or continuous cycle. The paper recycling process includes collecting waste paper for recycling, reusing products (such as using the blank side for notes), and purchasing new paper products made with recycled content. By using recycled content products, you will be completing the circle. This is especially important for paper, since 36% of the average landfill is comprised of paper. Americans discard four million tons of office paper each year, enough to build a 12-foot wall from Los Angeles to New York City.

Is recycled paper high quality?

In 1998, a consortium of manufacturers and government agencies conducted a test to see how well recycled paper performed in printers, copiers, and office equipment. They tested paper with the Federal standard of 30 percent post-consumer recycled content and found that recycled content paper met or exceed all the quality standards of virgin paper.

Five steps to get started

  1. When you buy paper, look for packaging that displays the chasing arrows within a circle. This indicates that the paper contains recycled content.
    Logo for recyclable mateiral = Recyclable

    Logo for recycled content= Made from recycled content
  2. Look for the highest percentage of post-consumer content in the paper. Post-consumer indicates the amount of waste paper collected from consumers and reprocessed. By buying paper with more post-consumer content, you are sending a message to the manufacturer that will encourage the reclamation and use of more recycled materials.
  3. Read labels carefully! The words "environmentally friendly," "safe for the environment," and "natural," do not indicate that the product is recycled, recyclable, or made from recycled materials.
  4. Find information on where to buy recycled products. Stores, vendors, web sites and catalogs are all found in the Buy Recycled Guide at www.recycleworks.org/paper/.

The more that we increase our purchases of recycled products, the more that manufacturers will turn to recycled raw materials like paper-completing the cycle of Reduce, Reuse, Repair, and Recycle.

 
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