It is National Recycling Week which is a good time to think about the other side of the recycling equation – buying products made from recycled material!
Now that you have put your unwanted paper into the recycling bin, the next step is to make the switch to Australian made recycled office paper because unless you are buying recycled products, you are only doing half the job. It is necessary to then close the recycling loop – the more products you buy that are made from recycled materials the greater the environmental benefits and the more efficient the use of natural resources. Choosing Australian made recycled paper supports domestic green jobs, keeps waste out of landfills and reduces carbon emissions.
Planet Ark has teamed up with Australian Paper to form the Make It Australian Recycled campaign. The campaign focuses on encouraging paper buyers right around the country, whether that’s households, schools, government or businesses, to not only recycle their paper waste but to buy it back and use locally made high recycled content papers.
The Make It Australian Recycled campaign aims to:
- show the importance of closing the paper recycling loop by buying it back;
- increase the use of locally made, high-recycled content paper (50% or more);
- encourage recycling of office paper; and
- reduce the amount of waste paper going to Australian landfill.
Why does your choice matter?
When purchasing recycled paper you are:
- closing the paper recycling loop and diverting waste from Australian landfill;
- reducing your carbon footprint;
- saving resources (water, energy and virgin paper pulp) in the production process;
- supporting the Australian economy, providing local green manufacturing jobs and offsetting the environmental costs of importing paper from overseas;
- choosing high-quality printing paper with great environmental performance;
- supporting our other environmental campaigns such as National Recycling Week and National Tree Day; and
- recycled paper as high quality, bright and white as non-recycled paper.
https://planetark.org/campaigns/make-it-australian-recycled.cfm
Merici College uses Australian recycled paper.
Felicity Maher
Sustainability Officer
