Producing a Paper Trail: Only 25 Percent of Magazines are Recycled Annually

Did you know that every single second, a tree is cut down for use in the U.S. magazine industry? In fact, according to San Francisco-based Conservatree, it takes 15 full-grown trees to produce one ton of magazine paper made from virgin fiber.

Scientists have estimated that human activity has degraded almost 80 percent of what remains of the planet's forests. Producing more virgin paper, which requires further harming our natural ecosystems, is not a sustainable solution to the growing global paper demand. However, a solution is within reach —using the vast reserves of recoverable paper that are not currently being collected and turned into recycled paper.

In fact, while old newspapers are recovered for recycling at a high rate in the United States (73 percent), only 25 percent of magazines are recycled from U.S. homes each year (or to put it the opposite way, about 4 billion magazines are not recycled each year). Recycled magazine paper can also be made from recovered printing-writing papers, such as office paper. The American Forest and Paper Association estimates that Americans currently collect only about 57 percent of printing-writing paper through recycling efforts. Conservatively estimated, at least 75 percent of all paper products are recoverable, which means that the United States, alone, could feasibly collect over nine million more tons of printing-writing paper annually. In other words, the nation is not at “peak recovered fiber.”

The Green America Better Paper Project, based in Denver, has released a study, "Green in All Grades,” which debunks recent myths and proves that recycled paper is always the best environmental choice—especially for magazine page and cover stock.

Frank Locantore, the director of the Better Paper Project, explains, "Over the past few years, we've heard a lot of misinformation and unsubstantiated claims that recycled paper is a poor environmental choice for magazine paper. We wanted to clear up confusion and present science-based facts to support magazines that want to do the right thing for the planet by using recycled paper."

What most people don’t know, according to Locantore, is that:

• Every year, there are still millions of tons of paper not collected for recycling
• Producing recycled paper uses less total energy and releases less carbon into the atmosphere than producing virgin-tree-fiber paper
• When comparing the same paper grade, recycled paper always uses fewer hazardous chemicals than does virgin-fiber paper
• There is no shortage of wastepaper available for recovery and recycling, so there's no need to allocate recycled content to only certain paper grades.
• The greatest environmental savings occur when recovered paper is used to make recycled printing-writing paper, instead of recycled newsprint or packaging
• Adding "request" to "reduce, reuse, recycle" can spur more paper recycling and a green manufacturing industry to support thousands of jobs.

To help magazine publishers stand out as environmental leaders, “Green in All Grades” offers a step-by-step plan to increase the recycled content in magazines, attract green consumers and support a sustainable 21st century economy.

In addition to providing environmental benefits, manufacturing recycled paper generates green jobs. The recent report, More Jobs, Less Pollution, from the National Resources Defense Council, found that for every 1,000 tons of paper that are recycled rather than sent to a landfill, between one and two jobs are created for paper collection; two jobs are created for paper processing; and four jobs are created for recycled paper manufacturing.

“Increasing our recycling rather than dumping trash in landfills will create nearly 1.5 million jobs that are sorely needed, and will benefit the environment," said Jim Hoffa, Teamsters Union general president. "The Teamsters are interested in creating good, green jobs."

To see a video on why the magazine Fast Company is proud to use recycled paper, click here.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO West 2012, taking place Oct. 2-5, in Austin, TX. ITEXPO (News - Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. For more information on registering for ITEXPO click here.

Stay in touch with everything happening at ITEXPO. Follow us on Twitter.