http://www.care2.com/greenliving/eco-friendly-printing-writing-papers.html
Eco-Friendly Printing and Writing Papers
posted by Annie B. Bond Feb 15, 1999 11:16 am
A Green Seal Choose Green Report, by Green Seal
Americans use approximately 31.5 million tons of printing and writing paper each year, an amount requiring over 535 million trees and more than 12 billion gallons of oil to produce.
Here are some tips to help you choose the most environmentally-friendly papers for your school and office needs:
- More paper products are now recovered than sent to landfills in the US, yet 65 percent of used printing and writing paper still ends up in the waste stream.
- The pulp and paper industry ranks first in use of industrial process water, third in toxic chemical releases, and fourth in emissions of the air pollutants known to impair respiratory health.
- Simple changes in our paper use and purchasing practices can help limit the depletion of forests and loss of habitat, reduce pollution and decrease the stress on our landfills. To this end, Green Seal recommends papers with at least 30 percent post-consumer recycled content and the use of chlorine-free production methods. Any pre-consumer or virgin fibers used in the recycled content paper must not be bleached with elemental chlorine.
- Several companies are using chlorine derivatives, such as chlorine dioxide, in place of elemental chlorine, which is acceptable given sufficient post-consumer recycled content.
- Green Seal also recommends some papers made with 100 percent virgin tree pulp, if processed completely without chlorine or its derivatives. Green Seal encourages both the increased use of post-consumer recycled fibers and the elimination of chlorine usage.
- Purchasing products that are chlorine-free and include post-consumer fibers will reduce the strain on natural resources, promote resource conservation and waste reduction, and minimize toxic emissions.
Green Seal reviewed the products of 20 manufacturers and evaluated them against the environmental criteria mentioned above.
To read Green Seal’s environmental rating of printing and writing papers—59 product recommendations—download Green Seal’s Choose Green Report!
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55 comments
add your comment »thankyou...
Kabin
Konteyner
mega kabin
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why is this inappropriate?
As a teacher, I have my students submit their papers electronically, no paper for them to waste. We still use paper in class but for those that can for homework it is not needed to print anymore
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I've notified Care2; they're fixing the download link. :)
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I love writing so found this to be very helpful. Recycling is great and I do use both sides of paper as a rule. Great to see such zeal for Eco-Friendly habits.
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It's easier than one thinks to make these changes. It's simply a matter of incorporating new habits until it's routine. For starters, all elementary schools should develop a significant curricculum, taught year after year, about how to "live green" & be stewards of our Home. Recycling is a GREAT start, but the info above should be widely known & practiced.
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I have started keeping the little newspapers that I get in the mail and you would not believe the amount of paper I have accumulated so far. Also the amount of junk mail I get is ridiculous, I usually let the kids and grand kids write or paint on the backs of them. I will continue to save the newspaper and hopefully somewhere in this small town I will find a recyclers.
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At work we waste a lot of paper. I started tearing the paper in to note size pieces. This way we use the used paper to write notes on and don't have to buy the notebooks. So we use the paper as much as we can before we throw it way.
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Since I lived in Turkey for 7 years, and saw how precious one piece of paper was over there, I have used the backs of envelopes for all of my scatch paper needs, and reuse all computer paper like mis-prints, etc. Easy for anyone to do, and costs nothing.
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How good-stop waste and keep our trees!
Louise B.
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Unfortunately, I got the following message when I tried to download the Green Report:
"Sorry!
The page you have requested is not available. We recently redesigned our website, and as a result some page locations have changed."
I would really like to see it, as I am sure would others. Can this link be reset so we can try again later?
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