Submitted: The Two Sides Team March 12, 2013
In 2011, a record-high 66.8 percent of paper was recovered and recycled in the U.S., which means people are recycling quite a bit in their daily lives. There’s always room for improvement, however, and though 87 percent of Americans have access to curbside or drop-off recycling options for paper, it’s important to ensure you’re recycling whenever you can.
March 12, 2013
by Kathryn Sukalich
In 2011, a record-high 66.8 percent
of paper was recovered and recycled in the U.S., which means people are
recycling quite a bit in their daily lives. There’s always room for
improvement, however, and though 87 percent
of Americans have access to curbside or drop-off recycling options for
paper, it’s important to ensure you’re recycling whenever you can. To
help you promote recycling in your day-to-day life, we’ve put together a
list of three places you should always recycle. We’ve also compiled
some steps you can take to start recycling – or even start a recycling
program – in those places in case there isn’t a recycling system already
in place. With a little time and effort, you can help make the paper
recycling rate even higher.
Why It Matters
If you work in an office, or in many other workplaces for that
matter, you probably use a fair amount of paper. Even though technology
can help reduce the amount of paper we use, paper still plays a
prominent role in work life. Plus, the average American uses almost six 40-foot tall trees
worth of paper each year. On the upside, though, purchases of printing
and writing paper declined by 5 percent in 2011, according to paperrecycles.org,
a website maintained by the American Forest & Paper Association
(AF&PA), and recycling of printing and writing paper only declined
by 1.2 percent. This means that while there may be less paper in use, we
are recycling a larger chunk of that paper.
Printing and writing paper are likely the most common types of paper in many workplaces, but plenty of other paper types
including envelopes, stationary, magazines and paper-based packaging
are found at work as well. Since so many types of paper surround people
at work, employees need to know which types can be recycled and how to
do so.
Steps to Take
Your employer or the building you work in may already have recycling
procedures in place, so first check to familiarize yourself with the
options available to you. If a recycling program for paper doesn’t
exist, you may need to look into starting one. The American Forest & Paper Association
offers some useful guides to help you implement paper recycling
programs. For a detailed set of instructions about getting started with
recycling at work, take a look at their Workplace Recycling Guide. Here are some of the basic steps to keep in mind while you plan:
Special Considerations
Early in the process, you’ll want to find out which types of office
paper can be recycled and whether they need to be separated in any way.
Later on, make sure employees understand any specific steps they may
need to take before recycling paper. Putting up signs or fliers in
communal areas may be helpful. AF&PA holds annual Paper Recycling Awards, so if your workplace implements a noteworthy recycling program, you could consider entering their contest.
2. At School
Why It Matters
As places of learning, schools have the unique ability to teach kids
good recycling practices. If children learn how to recycle in school,
they’re likely to carry some of that knowledge home with them as well.
Just like offices, schools use many types of paper including writing and
printing paper, notebooks, folders and paper-based packaging. Think
about all the items that have to be printed every day like tests,
handouts and assignments. Putting a system in place to save all these
resources can benefit everyone, since making recycled paper only uses 60 percent of the energy it would take to manufacture new paper.
Steps to Take
AF&PA also offers a detailed guide for
starting a school recycling program, which is worth a look if you’re
thinking about getting your school to start recycling. In general, they
offer these basic steps to get a program up and running smoothly:
Special Considerations
In addition to making sure you are recycling the proper materials and
separating them if need be, schools have a few other potential
recycling dilemmas you should think about ahead of time. Because of the
nature of the school year, you will need to determine if recycling
services will continue during school breaks. It’s also important to
remind students about recycling practices after each break because they
may not remember the rules after a few months away from school. You can
make recycling in a school setting fun, and doing so will help keep
students’ attention and raise participation. Contests between classrooms
and recognition can entertain students and also help meet paper
recycling goals.
AF&PA holds an annual paper recycling competition for schools, too, so consider nominating your school. The EPA also offers some tips for recycling with different age groups in schools, and paperrecycles.org provides lesson plans for teaching elementary school-age kids about paper recycling.
3. In Your Community
Why It Matters
87 percent
of Americans have access to curbside or drop-off recycling for paper,
which is great if people utilize those options. Just think about all the
paper that goes through your home; cereal boxes, cardboard, newspaper,
junk mail and packaging. In 2010, the New York Times
reported that Americans ate 31 percent more packaged food than fresh
food, and some of that packaging is composed of paper. Knowing which
paper products can go in your curbside bin is important because putting
non-recyclable paper in the bin can cause problems for recycling centers
and putting recyclable paper in the trash needlessly fills up landfill
space.
Steps to Take
Details about starting or adjusting a recycling program in your community can be found in AF&PA’s Community Recycling Guide, but here are the basics:
Special Considerations
In a community setting, the biggest obstacle you will face is getting
your recycling message out and making sure residents recycle correctly.
You will not have a captive audience the way you might at an office or
in a school, so spend extra time reaching out with fliers and through
any media outlets available to you. In a large community, you may also
need to target your message to a variety of people such as senior
citizens or people for whom English is a second language, AF&PA
explains. You might also need to find out if there are any specific
community members you need to speak with about a recycling program such
as homeowners associations or local government.
If you’d like to enter your community in AF&PA’s annual paper recycling competition, visit their website.