Recycle this!

On those dreary days that just aren’t conducive to biking, I make my daily commute via the city bus. Part of my survival kit is an iPod loaded with interesting podcasts – most often something from NPR. This morning’s replay of a science episode covered the unexpected challenge to recycling, thanks to the current economic troubles.

The daily newspapers that you and I place in our curbside recycling bin travels to a recycling distributor here in the states. The papers are then bundled in huge bales to be re-processed. Historically, there has been significant money to be made for distributors by sending bales of newspapers to China, which has very limited access to raw materials for making their own paper. China then recycles our old newspapers into cardboard products, which packages the electronics that we buy from China and then import back in to the states. Trouble is, as our economy tightens, we aren’t buying as many HDTVs or PlayStations, so China doesn’t need as many cardboard boxes, and consequently they don’t need our curbside recycled newspaper. Our stateside recycling distributors face much lower prices for bales of newspaper, and the report cited instances when it was much cheaper to just dump the papers in a landfill.

How can this be? You mean to tell me there is NOTHING else that can be done with recycled newspaper? By way of answering my own question, I say this:


Yup. Toilet paper. I’ve only seen one or two significant manufacturers of 100% recycled toilet paper, and I’ve certainly never seen any recycled toilet paper at any of the local Big Box stores. Doesn’t mean it’s not there, I just haven’t seen it. I have seen yards of shelving dedicated to all the big national brands of pristine white paper in varying degrees of softness, all of which can be enjoyed for a brief second or two before it disappears for good in the municipal waste water system. I don’t understand this. How could switching to recycled household paper products benefit our Blue Planet? The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) cites these statistics:

• If every household in the U.S. replaced just one roll of virgin fiber toilet paper (500 sheets) with 100% recycled ones, we could save 423,900 trees.

• If every household in the U.S. replaced just one box of virgin fiber facial tissues (175) sheets with 100% recycled ones, we could save 163,000 trees.

• If every household in the U.S. replaced just one roll of virgin fiber paper towels (70 sheets) with 100% recycled ones, we could save 544,000 trees.

• If every household in the U.S. replaced just one package of virgin paper napkins (250 count) with 100% recycled ones, we could save 1 million trees.

It is true that 100% recycled products currently cost a bit more than the virgin fiber products. However, as increased consumer demand creates incentives for increased production, competition between manufacturers will drive the market price lower. Already, some big paper companies are trying to appeal to environmental concerns by creating a line of paper products that incorporate a blend of recycled fibers. In the mean time, you can save money on buying 100% recycled paper products with bulk purchasing through office supply stores, and utilizing coupons and sales.

It is also true that in a side-by-side testing, virgin fiber paper is softer than 100% recycled paper. To this I say, we can put a man on the moon. Don’t tell me we can’t figure out how to make 100% recycled toilet paper as soft as the feel of some of the big name brands - pillows or quilts or embedded lotion or whatever the current advertising trend might involve. As for the Green Guest household, we have historically purchased store brand instead of the fancy fluffy stuff. We notice no difference in our switch to 100% recycled, and in comparison with certain store or discount brands, the 100% recycled paper is the more comfortable choice.

As Americans, we are improving in our recycling efforts. As the practice of recycling becomes more and more mainstream, we’ll have to figure out exactly what to do with all that “raw” material. Since recycling is only one part of the “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” model, it is imperative that we make the best use of the “Recycle” part of the equation by embracing “Reuse” with equal enthusiasm. I can’t think of a better “Reuse” for my old newspapers and junk mail than turning it into toilet paper. Can you?



Sources:
National Resources Defense Council - http://www.nrdc.org/land/forests/gtissue.asp Sphere: Related Content