- According to the Carnegie Mellon Green Practices institute, paper waste makes up about 40 percent of the commercial and residential waste sent to landfills. Most offices generate 1 1/2 lbs. of waste paper per employee per day, and 77 percent of this paper is recyclable. The National Recycling Coalition (NRC) states that each year, Americans throw away enough office paper to build a 12-foot-high wall that extends from New York City to Seattle, Washington. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Americans recycled 87.9 percent of their newspapers, and 52 percent of other types of paper and cardboard, in 2006.
- Many types of paper can be recycled, although local recycling programs may vary in the types of paper products they accept. Some of the most commonly accepted types of recyclable paper products include newspaper, office paper, unwaxed corrugated cardboard, cereal boxes, milk cartons, telephone books, junk mail and envelopes, and magazines. Many facilities do not accept tissue paper, paper towels, or paper products that have food waste or glossy coatings. However, some of these products may be recycled through composting.
- Recycling paper has both local and global benefits, since it saves space in landfills, reduces the need to cut down trees uses, and uses less energy and produces less air pollution than traditional paper making methods. According to Carnegie Mellon, recycling 1 ton of office paper can save 17 trees, 60,000 gallons of water, 225 kilowatt hours and 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space. The EPA adds that recycling 1 ton of office paper can also reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which may contribute to global warming, by 70 percent.
- In the early 1800s, Mathias Koops received a patent for a method of removing the ink from waste paper in order to make new paper. However, many consumers only became aware of the importance of recycling paper through the environmental movement that began with Earth Day 1970. At first, many consumers who wanted to recycle paper had to collect it and take it to recycling centers or paper mills. By 2006, about 8,660 communities had implemented curbside recycling pickups for paper products such as office paper, newspaper and cardboard.
- Consumers and businesses can reduce their household or office waste by recycling as many types of paper as possible. Residential customers may be able to find information on curbside or other local recycling programs through their garbage collection agency, or a community website. Businesses can encourage recycling by providing convenient recycling receptacles, and increasing employee awareness of recycling. Consumers also can purchase products made from recycled paper, such as office paper, envelopes, or even paper towels and toilet paper, by buying products with a recycled label that state their post-consumer content.
