Paper, Paper, Paper

Wanna cut through the paper confusion? Ok - two minutes - lend me your ear and let's talk terms:

100% recyclable
Well, this is great - but I mean, shouldn't all paper be recyclABLE? If it's not recyclABLE, it means the maker has mixed in some material that prevents the recycling process. (Speaking of which, did you know that Post-Its are not recyclable? The glue in the sticky part not only makes the paper non-recyclable - but if Post-Its go into a batch of paper to be recycled, often the glue actually gunks up the whole batch, rendering it trash, after all the effort people took to recycle it.) Anyway - yes, of course, recyclable is good. But if something is marketed as "100% recyclable" - look more closely. It could be that they're hoping to confuse people into thinking they're 100% recycl-ED. Which is different.

Recycled
Recyclable can mean lots of things. Virgin paper is recyclable. Recycled paper is, too. What you're really looking for is paper that is both. But let's talk more about THAT, too.

100% recycled - You'll sometimes see paper that contains 100% recycled content. Great. This means NO virgin paper was included in the source material used to create the paper. This paper tends to be more expensive, but sure feels nice knowing no forests were involved.

Some other percentage recycled - It's sometimes difficult to create paper fully out of recycled materials. Each time paper is recycled, its fibers get crushed and shortened - meaning at some point, they just don't make good paper anymore. So many materials and papers only contain a percentage of recycled material. This is fine, of course. Do be wary of companies sending you glossy catalog after glossy catalog (some companies are still really bad about this) touting 10% recycled material. Come on. They can do better than that - and they can also send fewer catalogs. I have a personal mission to cancel every catalog that comes to my house. If I want something, I'm gonna look online anyway, right? When's the last time you actually ordered something from a 1-800 number from a catalog?

Ok - so you'll see 20%, 40%, and upwards of recycled material. You may also sometimes see content differentiated as "post-consumer" and "post-industrial". The main detail here is that post-consumer has been SOLD. Newspapers, books, office paper, all that is post-consumer. Post-industrial includes many of these same thing - particularly newspapers and magazines that have been printed but not sold (these businesses are horrendous about this - some even say they overprint vastly in order to report their "circulation" as high, while up to half of those printed materials are never expected to sell). Post-industrial material also includes waste from the actual paper-making process, which is essentially then just rolled back into the front of the machine. In all, if you're choosy, post-consumer is preferable, though both labels are a little sticky.

Aaaaaah, so if you've read this far, you must really be interested in paper and recycling - or at least annoyed enough at all these opaque labels. Ok, so let's take it one step further:

Ecolabels

What does it mean when you see a label on a magazine that says "Mixed Sources" or "FSC" or "SFI" or "100% recycled paperboard", for instance?

**See FSC icon at right**

The FSC, or Forest Stewardship Council, is the most respected “eco-label” at the moment. They have three labels:

1) 100% - this means all of the material is virgin, but from FSC certified, well-managed (both environmentally and socially) forests.
2) Mixed Sources – though it might sound lesser, actually Mixed Sources means the material is from FSC forests and/or recycled.
3) Recycled – the wording on this is a little tricky, but my best translation is that products with this label are made with post-consumer recycled material. (It’s unclear to me whether all of the material needs to have come from sources that were originally FSC-certified, if that makes sense.)

You may sometimes also see this label


The SFI (Sustainable Forestry Initiative) is a far less respected entity, criticized frequently for having broad, vague certification parameters designed by lumber and paper companies to approve most of the procedures already in place in the logging and paper-making industries. In other words, SFI certification is cheaper and easier. Be wary of this certification, or do your own research. Some of my sources are a couple of years old, but more recent ones seem to echo their predecessors.

Grist

TreeHugger

Credible Forest Certification

Now if you’ve FedExed anything recently, you’ve surely seen this one:

**See 100% Recycled Paperboard icon at right**

I happen to be a big fan of 100% Recycled Paperboard. Do know, however, that 100% Recycled Paperboard isn’t always recycl-ABLE, so keep your eyes open. It needs to be uncoated, for instance. You can pick your battles here, but I want you to know what’s what. I’m still investigating whether it’s possible to get FSC certification for 100% Recycled Paperboard since the original sources can’t often be certified and approved – but this may be more detail than you’re interested in...

Ok. I’m guessing I’ve exhausted the curiosity of even the most steadfast among you. But since you’ve read this far, now just start keeping your eyes open. It’s interesting to see which companies are choosing to do what (and not everyone opts for an eco-label, either – and some are even choosing FSC papers and printers but not including the label on their product), and it will continue to be interesting to watch how this industry unfurls and selects its standards.