Misconceptions and Fallacies on Recycled Paper
Thursday, November 12th, 2009Misconceptions and Fallacies on Recycled Paper
Did you know that a single ton of paper made with 30% recycled post-consumer fiber saves three cubic yards of landfill space, seven trees, 3,000 gallons of water and over 4,000 BTUs of energy? Recycled paper is competitively priced with virgin-fiber paper; and recycled mills use less energy, produce less solid waste and fewer atmospheric emissions, and help to preserve natural resources and landfill space. However, outdated concerns about quality and cost, coupled with a lack of information about the benefits from reducing landfill and the variety of papers available, has held many organizations back.
Recycled Paper does not perform like Virgin Paper
In the past, when high quality recycled paper had not yet been developed; recycled paper did tend to curl and create more dust than high quality virgin paper. Now thanks to the efforts of paper production companies, high quality recycled content paper is available in all sizes, grades of recycled content and colors.
Recycled Paper Costs Significantly More than Virgin Paper
The market for recycled paper has grown over the last decade and now recycled paper is available at very competitive prices! Most paper companies offer at least 30% recycled content paper! It is important to show companies that the market for recycled paper is still out there and growing, therefore every purchase of recycled products, no matter how small, is important to closing the loop between recycling and using recycled products.
Recycled Paper Is Less Appealing than Virgin Paper
In a study, only 2% of those surveyed could correctly distinguish between different grades of recycled paper and virgin paper. The only way anyone can tell if you are using recycled paper is if the paper has a stamp indicating that it is made from recycled stock. This is more likely to be a positive contribution to your image than a negative one.