Sustainable Purchasing of Office Paper
The success of paper recycling and the environmental benefits that flow from it are partly dependant on strong demand for recycled content products. Purchasing paper and paper products made from recycled paper “closes the loop” on the flow of that material, conserving the resources needed to make it and avoiding the environmental impacts of waste disposal to our landfills.
Purchasing environmentally responsible office paper is part of the Green Office Program's ten point plan for University office environments.
The material on this page is presented to assist offices in assessing the environmental credentials and printing suitability of various recycled papers on the market. It is excerpted from: Know Your Printing Paper: A Guide to Purchasing Recycled Content Paper for Corporate Stationery & Promotional Materials, Department of Environment and Conservation (NSW), June 2004.
Several of the papers described are available from the University's Stationery Supplier.
For further information, the full publication is available for download:
The following publications also contain valuable further information:
- Know Your Paper - Purchasing Recycled Content Office Paper, Department of Environment and Conservation (NSW), April 2004. [PDF, 1799kB]
- Office Products - Sustainable Purchasing and Use, Department of Environment and Conservation (NSW), 2002 [PDF, 1146kb]
Manufacturing Details of Recycled Content Printing Papers and Printing Suitability
Paper name |
Country of Manufacture |
Fibre Composition |
Recycled Fibre Source |
Bleaching Agent |
Are the claims made for the paper independently verified? |
Does the mill have an EMS currently accredited or recognized by a third party? |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Waste Stream |
Country of Origin |
||||||
Banksia |
Australia |
25% recycled content – pre- and post-consumer |
Printers waste, converter offcuts, LPB containers |
Australia |
ECF |
No |
Maintains certification to ISO 14001 |
Cambric Linen (Beckett) |
USA |
20% recycled content |
Information not available |
Information not available |
ECF |
Information not available |
Information not available |
Cardex |
Australia |
100% recycled content – pre- and post-consumer |
LPB containers, printers & converters waste, office computer papers |
Australia/New Zealand |
ECF |
No |
Maintains certification to ISO 14001 |
Concept Vellum |
USA |
30% recycled content – post- consumer |
Information not available |
USA |
Information not available |
No |
Information not available |
Conqueror Recycled |
UK |
75% recycled content - |
Recycled papers, (some mill broke) |
UK |
ECF |
No |
Information not available |
Conservation Recycled |
Scotland |
100% recycled content 80% pre- and 20% post-consumer |
Office waste, converter offcuts |
Scotland |
Process ECF |
Yes |
EU Eco-Management & Audit Scheme (EMAS) & ISO 14001 |
Courier |
Information not available |
Information not available |
Information not available |
Information not available |
ECF |
Information not available |
Maintains certification to ISO 14001 |
Curious Particles |
UK |
75% recycled content – 35% pre- and 40% post-consumer |
Office waste |
UK |
ECF |
No |
Information not available |
Cyclus |
Denmark |
100% recycled content – post- consumer |
Printed waste from offices, print houses, consumers & converters |
Scandinavia & Germany |
TCF |
Carries the Blue Angel and Nordic Swan labels |
EU Eco-Management & Audit Scheme (EMAS) & ISO 14001 |
Encore |
Italy |
50% recycled content – 35% pre- and 15% post-consumer |
Office waste, offcuts, LPB cartons |
Italy |
ECF |
No |
Maintains certification to ISO 14001 |
Envirocare 100% Recycled |
Austria |
100% recycled content – 35% pre- and 65% post-consumer |
Carbonless & thermal papers |
Austria |
ECF |
Carries the Blue Angel, Nordic Swan and Eugropa labels |
Maintains certification to ISO 14001 |
Evolve Business |
UK |
100 % recycled content – post-consumer |
Office waste |
UK |
ECF/TCF |
Yes. |
Maintains certification to ISO 14001 |
Expression |
USA |
20-30% recycled content – post- consumer |
Post consumer sources are not available |
USA |
ECF |
No |
Information not available |
Freelife |
Italy |
80% recycled content – pre- consumer |
Office waste, offcuts, LPB cartons |
Italy |
ECF |
No |
Maintains certification to ISO 14001 |
Green Wrap |
Australia |
60% recycled content – pre- and post- consumer |
Office waste, offcuts, LPB cartons |
Australia |
ECF |
No |
Maintains certification to ISO 14001 |
Impressions Keaykolour Recycled |
UK |
75% recycled content – 35% pre- and 40% post-consumer |
Post-consumer sources are not available |
UK |
ECF |
No |
Information not available |
Monza |
Italy |
50% recycled content - 35% pre- and 15% post-consumer |
Office waste, printers waste |
Italy, France & Canada |
ECF |
No |
Maintains certification to ISO 14001 |
Navajo |
USA |
20% recycled content – pre- and post-consumer |
Office waste, converters |
USA |
ECF |
No |
Mill works to their established EMS |
Neenah Columns |
USA |
60% recycled content – 30% pre- and 30% post-consumer |
Office waste, offcuts, LPB cartons |
USA |
TCF |
No |
Information not available |
Onyx |
Australia |
100% recycled content – pre- and post-consumer |
Office waste, LPB containers |
Australia |
ECF |
No |
Maintains certification to ISO 14001 |
Origin |
Australia |
100% recycled content – pre- and post-consumer |
LPB containers, printers & converters offcuts, office computer papers |
Australia &New Zealand |
ECF |
No |
Maintains certification to ISO 14001 |
Outback |
Australia |
Mixture of pre- and post-consumer waste |
Coloured inclusions from coloured waste from the laminating industry |
Australia |
ECF |
No |
Maintains certification to ISO 14001 |
Plantation |
Australia |
65% recycled content – pre- and post-consumer |
Converters waste, office waste, LPB containers |
Paper: Australia & New Zealand |
ECF |
No |
Maintains certification to ISO 14001 |
Revive Laser* |
Australia |
100% recycled content - at least 25% post-consumer |
LPB containers, printers waste, other manufacturer offcuts |
Australia & New Zealand |
ECF |
No |
Maintains certification to ISO 14001 |
Recycled 100 |
Australia |
100% recycled fibre – pre- and post-consumer |
LPB containers, printers & converters waste, office computer papers. |
Australia & New Zealand |
ECF |
No |
Maintains certification to ISO 14001 |
Speckletone |
USA |
100% recycled – pre- and post- consumer |
Information not available |
USA |
N/A |
No |
Mill works to their established EMS |
Steinbeis Signaset |
Germany |
100% recycled content – pre- and post-consumer |
Household & commercial waste, office paper, newspaper |
Germany |
TCF |
Carries the Blue Angel Nordic Swan label |
Maintains certification to ISO 14001 |
Suits |
Australia |
70% recycled fibre – pre- and post-consumer |
LPB containers, printers & converters waste, office computer papers. |
Australia and New Zealand |
ECF |
No |
Maintains certification to ISO 14001 |
Sundance |
USA |
50% recycled content - 35% pre- and 15% post-consumer |
Office waste |
United States |
ECF |
No |
Maintains certification to ISO 14001 |
Tudor RP |
Australia |
100% recycled content – pre- and post-consumer |
LPB containers, printers & converters waste, office computer papers. |
Australia and New Zealand |
ECF |
No |
Maintains certification to ISO 14001 |
Tuscany |
Australia |
Information not available |
Information not available |
Information not available |
ECF |
No |
Maintains certification to ISO 14001 |