Recycled Paper Information Page

| facts & stats | web sites & resources |

Facts & stats

Paper use in the I-Commons September-August
academic year	sheets of paper used	sheets of paper used (September only)	number of pages printed	number of trees sacrificed*
2003-04	n/a	55,273	997,334	119
2004-05	584,179	65,065 (+18% py)	1.1 x 106 (+10% since 03-04)	131
2005-06	681,107 (+16%)	77,662 (+19% py) (+40% since 03-04)	1.3 x 106 (+17% since 03-04)	155
2006-07		89,968 (+16% py) (+62.7% since 03-04)	~1.2 X 106 (est.)

*One tree makes 16.67 reams or 8333.3 sheets of copy paper [1].

Collins Library uses non-recycled paper, which costs ~$2.30/ream. (One ream = 500 sheets.) Recycled paper generally costs about $1 more per ream.  

A total of 2.1 x 10⁶ (older estimate: 1.7 x 10⁶) pages were printed in all campus computer labs in '03-'04  and OIS estimates that >3 x 10⁶ will be printed in '06-'07.

Some statistics:

	The average American uses 9 trees (750 pounds) worth or paper per year [2].
	In 2005, the amount of paper recovered for recycling averaged 346 pounds for every person in the U.S. [6]
	About half the trees cut down in North America annually are used for making paper.
	Paper accounts for ~30-40% of landfill waste.
	More than 90% of the printing and writing paper made in the U.S. is from virgin tree fiber[3].
	Old Growth forests make up 16% of the virgin tree fiber used each year to make paper products[4].
	Nearly a ton of new recycled paper can be made from a ton of recycled stock compared to the 2-3.5 tons of trees required to make a ton of virgin paper.  This is one of the reasons recycled paper results in lower solid waste byproducts and uses less energy, water and chemicals [4].
	The timber industry has in all likelihood wiped out more habitat and more species per unit of production than has any other industry [4].
	Producing recycled paper causes 74% less air pollution, 35% less water pollution, and creates five times the number of jobs than producing virgin paper [5].

Web sites & resources

	Conservatree > how much paper can be made from a tree?
	Forest Ethics
	Natural Resources Defense Council Top Ten Reasons to Recycle Energy Savings Paper Industry laying waste to our North American Forests Too Good to Throw Away: The Recycling Industry's Proven Record
	Recycling Benefits National Recycling Coalition
	American Forest & Paper Association
	Washington Forest & Paper Industry at a Glance 2003 AFPA (2-page PDF)
	Wood Pulp and Waste Paper (90-page PDF)
	May/June 2004 issue of E: The Environmental Magazine is on paper recycling..  It is also available in Collins Library.

[1]Conservatree. September 2002.   
[2]www.ibuydifferent.org > take action
[3]Abromovitz, Taking a Stand: Cultivating a New Relationship with the World’s Forests. Washington D.C.: Worldwatch Institute 1999. From Forest Ethics Paper Campaign Facts. Taking a Stand... is available in Summit.
[4]Abromovitz & Mattoon. Paper Cuts: Recovering the Paper Landscape. Washington D.C.: Worldwatch Institute 1999 p. 21.  From Forest Ethics Paper Campaign Facts. Paper Cuts... is available in Summit.
[5]Center for a New American Dream. May 2001.
[6]paperrecycles.org http://www.paperrecycles.org/paper_environment/index.html

Page by: Elizabeth Knight, Science Librarian, Collins Memorial Library
University of Puget Sound. Tacoma, Washington.
last updated: October 18, 2006.