Buy Recycled Paper and Paper Products
More and more paper is being recycled into new products. Buying recycled-content paper and products helps “close the recycling loop”. The paper we collect through recycling programs is used as raw materials to make new paper products for the marketplace. In addition, approximately three percent of recycled paper is used in non-paper products such as insulation, gypsum wallboard, padding, compost, kitty litter, and sound absorbing materials.
The following links provide information about buying recycled products:
- Learn about buying recycled paper at Conservatree.
- Use the paper calculator to find out how big an impact buying recycled can make.
- The The Green Press Initiative encourages publishers, industry stakeholders, and authors to use recycled-content paper.
- Princeton’s Recycled Paper Campaign: A Greening Princeton project that requires all academic departments at the university to purchase paper products containing 100 percent postconsumer fiber content.
- Consult EPA’s Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines (CPG) and Recovered Materials Advisory Notices (RMANs), which recommend recycled-content levels for paper and paperboard for government procurement, in addition to many other recyclables.
- The U.S. General Service Administration’s Products and Services Guide lists and evaluates recycled-content materials available for purchasing.
- The U.S. Government Printing Office (overseen by the Joint Committee on Printing of the U.S. Congress) publishes specifications for the full range of printing and writing papers used by federal agencies. These specifications require recycled content to the extent practicable, in compliance with federal mandates. You can use these specifications as guides when purchasing recycled-content printing and writing papers.