Post Consumer Recycled Paper: Use it or Not??
Unfortunately, it’s not easy to find 100% postconsumer recycled paper. Last year, one of our suppliers actually went into bankruptcy. (They have since stabilized their finances.)
Until the markets for recycled paper expand and become commonplace, trees will continue to be cut down to make paper. This, from the Union for Concerned Scientists:
The growing presence of recycled paper has led many people to believe that all paper is now made from recycled materials. This unfortunate misconception has actually decreased demand for recycled paper, causing manufacturers to produce less. As a result, more than 90 percent of printing and writing paper still comes from virgin tree fiber.
The benefits of producing paper from recycled fibers are many: fewer trees cut down, less water and energy consumed, less pollution generated. And now that studies have shown today’s recycled paper products are comparable to conventional products in quality, performance, and cost, the case for buying recycled is stronger than ever.
Some paper suppliers are touting 30% postconsumer recycled paper as ‘green’ or the eco alternative. Frankly, that is pretty lame. 30% recycled has been the US government mandated percentage since 1998.
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