Buy Recycled

On this page: Local sources to purchase recycled paper | Look for the postconsumer symbol when shopping | Examples of recycled products | Databases of products made with recycled content

Where to buy reams of recycled office paper
Office paper...we all use it. But nine times out of ten, printing and office paper isnšt made with recycled materials. In fact, half of the trees cut in North America go to making paper. By buying recycled paper, you not only save natural resources but you help support paper recycling markets. When contacting the following organizations selling reams of recycled office paper, be sure to specify postconsumer recycled:

Read the label: Postconsumer waste (PCW)
Postconsumer waste refers to recycled material that was collected from curbside, office and drop-off recycling programs like ours. Look for paper made with at least 30% postconsumer recycled content.

Processed chlorine free (PCF)
In order to make paper white, paper fibers are bleached. PCF means that the bleaching process uses no chlorine or chlorine derivatives, thereby eliminating toxic by-products associated with chlorine, such as dioxins.

For more information about recycled content and environmentally preferable paper, visit Conservatree www.conservatree.com. Conservatree is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information about environmentally sound paper and helping market development.


Local retailers carrying reams of recycled office and copy paper:
Corrick's 707-546-2423 637 Fourth St., Santa Rosa M-Sa 9-5:30. Retail and catalog sales	Office Helper 707-763-9847 1330 Ross, Petaluma M-F 8-5. Retail sales only

Give Something Back www.givesomething back.com 800-261-2619 M-F 8-5. Catalog and web site sales. Nonprofit donates after-tax profits to community organizations	Paper Plus 707-542-7012 986 Airway Ct., Ste. A Santa Rosa M-F 7:30-5:30. Retail sales only

Kinkos Copies 707-763-6553, Petaluma 901 E. Washington St., 707-523-0922, Santa Rosa 700 Third St. 24-hrs. Retail and catalog sales	Recycled Products Purchasing Cooperative (RPPC) 800-694-8355 www.recycledproducts.org M-F 9-4. Web site and phone orders. Competitively priced 30% postconsumer recycled printing and office paper available from nonprofit purchasing cooperative; five case minimum order

OfficeMax 707-523-7700 www.officemax.com 2720 Santa Rosa Ave., Santa Rosa M-F 7-9, Sa 9-9, Su 10-7. Retail, catalog and web site sales	Sonoma Valley Office Supply 707-938-1141 551 Fifth St. W., Sonoma M-F 9-5, Sa 10-2. Retail and catalog sales

Office Depot 707-542-2582 www.officedepot.com 1960 Santa Rosa Ave., Santa Rosa M-F 7-9, Sa 9-9, Su 10-7. Retail, catalog and web site sales	Sprint Copy Center 707-823-3900 175 N. Main, Sebastopol M-Th 8:30-7, F 8:30-5:30, Sa 10-4. Retail and catalog sales

	For fact sheets about buying recycled paper, visit the Bay Area Buy Recycling Paper Campaign web site at www.bayarearecycling.org

Look for the postconsumer symbol when shopping

The recycling loop isn't complete until the materials collected at curbside and drop-off sites are remanufactured into new products and purchased by consumers.

Look for this symbol and the words "postconsumer" when shopping. Postconsumer means that the product is made from materials collected through recycling programs...like ours. While watching for this logo helps, not every product made from recycled content is labeled with this symbol.

In fact, you may be buying recycled without even knowing it. Many things you buy are made with recycled materials and do not always advertise it. For example, in California, the average aluminum container is made up of 55% recycled aluminum, the average glass bottle is made of 30% recycled glass, and the average steel can is made of 25% recycled steel.

Examples of products made with recycled content
At the grocery store
Check for postconsumer symbols on the labels of:

Cereal, cookie and cracker packages

Canned foods and beverages

Detergent and cleaning

supply containers

Glass containers

Household paper products, such as

paper towels and bathroom tissue

Look for other products made with recycled content such as:

Writing paper, note pads,

greeting cards and other stationery supplies

Carpeting

Plastic flower pots, trash cans,

recycling bins and fencing

Packing boxes

Re-refined motor oil

Insulation in ski jackets

Gloves and sleeping bags

made from recycled PET bottles

Databases of recycled content products:

Recycled-Content Products http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/rcp/
Searches over 10,000 materials, products and businesses. Includes information on the manufacturers, distributors, reprocessors, mills and converters who procure or produce these products and the recycled materials needed to make them. This site is maintained by the California Integrated Waste Management Board

Conservatree http://www.conservatree.com/
Helpful information about totally chlorine-free, tree-free, and recycled content papers.

This site is sponsored by the Sonoma County Waste Management Agency.
Contact us at eco-desk@recyclenow.org