Frequently Asked Questions or
a Crash Course in Recycling Terms
THE RECYCLING PROCESS
 Three arrows in the circle formation symbolize the three-step recycling process.
- Step One is to collect and recycle "used" materials.
- Step Two is to re-manufacture these collected materials into new products.
- Step Three, known as "closing the loop", is to Buy Recycled.
WHY USE RECYCLED PAPER?
For every ton of paper we choose to recycle, we save 17 trees and free-up 3.3 cubic yards of scarce landfill space. With the reduction in chemicals used to convert recycled paper into new products, we also save our natural resources and reduce pollution of our air and water.
WHAT IS POST-CONSUMER WASTE?
Post-consumer paper pulp is derived from the paper that you and I have used and recycled. Diverted from the waste stream and sent to a special mill for recycling, it is ultimately re-manufactured into "new" paper. Generally speaking, the higher the post-consumer content of any given product, the better the choice. A product can be identified as "recycled" and contain very small percentages of post-consumer waste. A product containing only 10% post-consumer content, though often referred to as "recycled", actually accomplishes very little from an environmental perspective.
WHAT ABOUT CHLORINE?
Chlorine has been one of the most successful and ubiquitous cleaning helpers for household, industrial, restaurant and institutional uses for decades. It's cheap, readily available, and appears to work for most of its uses (though this is not always the case). As a whitener, it's incomparable. But the environmental and health consequences are indisputable as well. The EPA has confirmed the dangers of chlorine usage. It's a chemical process. Chlorine forms "organochlorines" whenever it is used. Organochlorines, in turn, form "dioxins". Dioxins are highly toxic at very low levels. Dioxins do not break down in the environment, and they accumulate in human tissue. In addition, anything bleached with chlorine retains organochlorine residues, so the exposure continues. Dioxins are highly carcinogenic and can cause reproductive problems and genetic damage and are linked to a host of other chemically induced conditions.
According to the EPA, even minimal use of bleach or bleached products can result in a lifetime exposure to dioxin that exceeds "acceptable risks." Acceptable? We don't think so. Is all this "whiteness" is worth the cost?
CLARIFICATION OF BLEACHING TERMS
TOTALLY CHLORINE FREE (TCF) - No recycled paper can claim to be Totally Chlorine Free.
ELEMENTAL CHLORINE FREE (ECF) - Paper is processed without elemental chlorine but a chlorine derivative, e.g. chlorine dioxide, is used. Though a less harmful process, it does not provide an adequate solution to toxic bleaching. ECF is the same as SCF (Secondarily Chlorine Free). ECF tends to be misleading. ItÕs only slightly less harmful than chlorine gas.
PROCESSED CHLORINE FREE (PCF) - This is as good as it gets. Look for the symbol. Recycled paper in which the recycled content is unbleached or bleached without chlorine or chlorine derivatives. The preferred bleaching method is usually hydrogen peroxide, which bleaches by oxygenating and releases no harmful byproducts. Any virgin portion of the paper must be TCF.
BIODEGRADABLE: Products that, in the presence of air, water, sunlight and bacteria, break down into elements in nature.
EARTH FRIENDLY: All products have some impact on the environment, so it is best to choose safe alternatives with minimal impact. Products are available that do not have hazardous consequences or pollute our land, air and water.
NON-TOXIC: There is not yet an agreed-upon definition of what is "non-toxic" to the environment, and some products that do not appear to be hazardous to people may be to fish, wildlife and children. It is estimated that Americans are exposed to 70,000 different chemicals*, some 90% of which have never been subjected to adequate testing to determine their impact on our health.
*NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), 25 Year Report, 1995
POST-CONSUMER: Materials that have served their original purpose and have been separated from "trash" and recycled. Step 1 of "the Loop."
RECYCLABLE: A product is recyclable, or able to be made into other products, only if it is collected in your area and sent back to a manufacturer to do the recycling. "Recyclable" is not "recycled".
*Rec/PC relates to the amount of total recycled content vs. the amount of post-consumer fiber contained in the paper. Please refer to page 4 for a more complete explanation of these terms.
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