Issues To Consider Related to Obtaining Reused Office Paper

Issues To Consider Related to Obtaining Reused Office Paper

Purchasing printer paper was once a rather straightforward process for the majority of small businesses; everyday consumers. Increasingly though it's becoming much more difficult and we are met with an enormous range of choices.

This is even more true for the eco-conscious buyer who wants to purchase eco-friendly office paper and has to consider the environmental benefits relating to every ream. It's not necessarily clear to folks what "recycled content" signifies and what the most eco-friendly types of recycled content are.

As such, I have put together a short list highlighting 2 of the most critical green characteristics of recycled printer paper and other goods. Here are the things you should evaluate when making your order:

1) Recycled Content - This is one of the most important factors to consider. When you are buying printer paper, pencils, file folders, etc you should look to see how much recycled content is in the product. Is it 10% or is it 100%? Typically, products with high levels of recycled content will also be a bit pricier, but if you are a smart shopper or if you purchase in bulk you can still find really great deals on products with substantial levels of recycled content.

2) Post Consumer Recycled Material - There are two main types of recycled content: post consumer and pre consumer. Post-consumer recycled content means that the content was used and thrown away (or put in a recycling bin) by an end consumer (e.g., you or me) not a business. Pre consumer recycled material means that the content in the product could have merely been discarded during the manufacturing process (e.g., paper trimmings while slicing the paper into 8.5in X 11in sheets). Post-consumer waste is considered to have a greater environmental benefit than pre-consumer material because post-consumer material is much more likely to wind up in a landfill if it isn't recycled.

To say it a different way, manufacturers will try and reuse all their factory floor paper trimmings because they want to save money; they're then going to recycle the rest because they have a monetary incentive to do so; end consumers, however, are far more likely to throw away copy paper that they have already used. Thus by purchasing products with large levels of post-consumer content you are increasing incentives for cities to operate effective curbside recycling services and in the end providing more incentives for consumers to recycle.

Finally a product which is simply tagged as having a particular percentage of "recycled content" (without stating whether it is pre or post consumer) is merely saying that they either do not know if the recycled content is pre or post consumer or that the product was made from a blend of pre and post consumer content and they do not know precisely what the blend is. Post-consumer waste is considered to have a greater environmental benefit than pre-consumer material because post-consumer material is much more likely to wind up in a landfill if it isn't recycled.

The most eco-friendly choice is to use a line of recycled printer paper that is made of 100% recycled content and ideally a very large percent (e.g., 75%, 80%, or 100%) of post-consumer recycled content.

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