Save Money. Save Earth. :: Advoice Paper

Benefits of Buying Recycled

"One ton of paper made from recycled fibers instead of virgin fibers conserves:

7,000 gallons of water
17-31 trees
4,000 KWh of electricity
60 pound of air pollutants"

"Buying recycled products helps to establish demand for these items as well as support recycling markets and community collection programs."
(New Jersey Higher Education Partnership for Sustainability)

"Buying recycled products is critically important to the success of recycling programs." Unfortunately, recycled paper often costs double that of similar white paper. Furthermore, if there is no market for recycled products, then those products degrade over time eventually create more waste. "Quite simply, if you're not buying recycled, you're not recycling."
(New Hampshire's Department of Environmental Services)

Facts About Paper Production And Waste

Paper creates the 35% majority of the waste in America's landfills.
(Environmental Protection Agency)

In fact, the United States wasted 83 thousand tons, or $116 million dollars worth, of paper in 2005 alone.
(Buying Recycled)

The average office employee wastes "10,000 sheets of copy paper a year - that's one sheet every 12 minutes."
(Charity Guide)

"Americans throw away enough office and writing paper annually to build a wall 12 feet high stretching from Los Angeles to New York. Also, every day American businesses generate enough paper to circle the Earth 20 times."
(Buying Recycled)

"In addition, every year each American household receives an average of 1.5 tree's growth of bulk mail advertising - commonly known as 'junk mail.'"
(Buying Recycled)

Paper mills are a giant source of air pollutants including carbon dioxide, nitrous oxides, sulfur dioxides, carbon monoxides, and often mercury, arsenic, and radioactive emissions.
(The Clean Water Action Council)

The paper industry is also responsible for:

Contaminated particles in lakes and rivers which harm wildlife
Emission toxic chemicals into the atmosphere
Increased energy and water consumption
And the elimination of our forests for pulp production

The Public Eye

"A surprising 76 percent of Americans believe recycling at home can reduce their contribution to global warming... Recycling can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions that lead to global climate change."
(American Recycler)

Myths About Recycled Paper

Recycled paper doesn't work in our printers. "In a recent study, Cannon U.S.A, Hewlett-Packard, and Lexmark combined with the U.S. Government Printing Office tested over 2 million sheets of paper on various models of copiers, laser printers, and ink jet printers. The study showed that the physical properties (image quality, smoothness, curls) and performance (paper feeding, reliability) of 30% recycled-content paper brands was equivalent to virgin papers brands."
(City of Gainesville)

Furthermore, many brands of copy paper has a right side up and if placed in copy machines a different way, will jam regardless if it is recycled or not. If paper is left open and exposed to dust or moisture, it may swell, also causing jams.

"Do not let your copy machine technician tell you that recycled paper will void warranties and does not, work in your machine. This is just not true. Ask your technician to adjust your machine if you"are having trouble with your recycled paper. The new Commonwealth contract for copy machines forbids technicians from blaming recycled paper for machine problems and requires that machines be able to accept all paper on state contract. No vendor has raised any concerns about these provisions."
(Slippery Rock University)

Buying recycled does not make a difference. "This couldn't be farther from the truth. Increasing the use of post-consumer fibers in printing and writing paper is critical to expanding market demand for recycled paper while conserving resources and reducing waste. Every ton of recycled paper collected and used again to make paper saves 17 trees from being cut down. Also, the 30% post-consumer recycled content level will result in a 13% reduction in the amount of solid waste requiring disposal."
(City of Gainesville)

Recycled paper's quality is inferior. "Advances in paper recycling technologies and improved office paper collection efforts have made it possible to produce high quality post-consumer content paper products. Today, products made from recycled-content paper are found everywhere. Copier paper, computer paper, envelopes, file folders, tissue and towel products, corrugated and paperboard boxes, and cash register tape are just some examples of the many recycled-content products available."
(City of Gainesville)