Resources
Inform Publications:
Germany, Garbage, and the Green Dot: Challenging the Throwaway Society. Bette K. Fishbein (1994, 276 pp.,)
Analyzes the concept of extended manufacturer responsibility as a means to reduce product and packaging waste, through the lens of the German experience.
Delivering the Goods: Benefits of Reusable Shipping Containers. David Saphire (1995, 32 pp.)
Describes how reusing shipping containers can curtail packaging waste, offering environmental and economic benefits. Discusses institutional obstacles to more widespread use and options for overcoming them.
Waste at Work: Prevention Strategies for the Bottom Line. John P. Winter & Anne Marie Alonso (1999, 105 pp.)
Businesses generate up to 45 percent of this country's waste, and managing it costs them billions of dollars a year. This handbook explains how businesses (as well as government agencies) can reduce waste while bringing down their disposal, purchasing, and operational costs. A section on procurement describes the attributes to look for when shopping for products that produce less waste and how to buy, store, use, and dispose of products to reduce or eliminate waste.
Other Publications:
On the paper industry
Forest Protection and Sustainable Paper Production
Inform Publications:
Germany, Garbage, and the Green Dot: Challenging the Throwaway Society. Bette K. Fishbein (1994, 276 pp.,)
Analyzes the concept of extended manufacturer responsibility as a means to reduce product and packaging waste, through the lens of the German experience.
Delivering the Goods: Benefits of Reusable Shipping Containers. David Saphire (1995, 32 pp.)
Describes how reusing shipping containers can curtail packaging waste, offering environmental and economic benefits. Discusses institutional obstacles to more widespread use and options for overcoming them.
Waste at Work: Prevention Strategies for the Bottom Line. John P. Winter & Anne Marie Alonso (1999, 105 pp.)
Businesses generate up to 45 percent of this country's waste, and managing it costs them billions of dollars a year. This handbook explains how businesses (as well as government agencies) can reduce waste while bringing down their disposal, purchasing, and operational costs. A section on procurement describes the attributes to look for when shopping for products that produce less waste and how to buy, store, use, and dispose of products to reduce or eliminate waste.
Other Publications:
On the paper industry
- J.M. Abramovitz and A.T. Mattoon (1999). Paper Cuts: Recovering the Paper
Landscape. Worldwatch Paper 149 at
http://www.worldwatch.org/node/841
Environmental Defense Fund (1995). Paper Task Force Report at http://www.edf.org/documents/813_PTFcomplete.pdf and Paper Task Force White Papers (updated 2004) at http://www.edf.org/article.cfm?ContentID=1689
Environmental Paper Network (2007).The State of the Paper Industry: Monitoring the Indicators of Environmental Performance at http://www.environmentalpaper.org/stateofthepaperindustry/confirm.htm
Environmental Paper Summit (2002). A Common Vision for Transforming the Paper Industry: Striving for Environmental and Social Sustainability at http://www.environmentalpaper.org/documents/CommonVision.pdf
M. Smith (1998). The U.S. Paper Industry and Sustainable Production at http://sonic.net/~doretk/Issues/98-06%20SUM/theuspap.html
-
TAPPI (2001). How is Paper Recycled at http://www.tappi.org/paperu/all_about_paper/earth_answers/Recycle1.htm
White House Task Force on Recycling (1998). Recycling...for the Future at http://www.ofee.gov/wpr/future.pdf
- United Nations. Food and Agriculture Organization (2007). Green Facts:
Scientific Facts on Forests at http://www.greenfacts.org
-
From Inform:
J. P. Winter & A. M. Alonso (1999). Waste at Work: Prevention Strategies for the Bottom Line. at http://www.informinc.org/wasteatwork.php
Through the Environmental Paper Network website:
Increasing Paper Efficiency at http://www.environmentalpaper.org/documents/paperefficiencyfactsheet.pdf
Environmentally Preferable Paper Purchasing Guidance at http://www.environmentalpaper.org/documents/CommonVision-paperpguidelines.pdf
Forest Ethics’ Business Guide to Paper Production at http://www.environmentalpaper.org/documents/REDUCE-BUSINESS-GUIDE.pdf
From Environmental Defense Fund:
Tips for selecting, buying and reducing paper (updated October 2007) at http://www.edf.org/article.cfm?contentid=1689
Allies
Corporate and Individual Responsibility in Paper Purchasing and Consumption
-
As You Sow at http://www.asyousow.org/
A non-profit which gives grants and also works toward corporate and institutional responsibility in relation to the environment and the human condition. Advocates for the purchase of recycled paper and for responsible fiber sourcing by large corporate users as well as for the availability of environmentally preferable papers through large US paper suppliers.
Catalog Choice at http://www.catalogchoice.org/
A free service to help you stop receipt of unwanted catalogues in the mail, sponsored by The Ecology Center with endorsements by the National Wildlife Federation and the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Center for a New American Dream at http://www.newdream.org/
An organization with a mission of changing consumption patterns to protect the environment, enhance quality of life, and promote social justice . See their “junk your junk mail” webpage at http://www.newdream.org/junkmail/ and their responsible purchasing network at http://www.responsiblepurchasing.org/. Also look at their news about paper here.
Conservatree at http://www.conservatree.org/
An organization that provides information about purchasing of environmental paper for both small-scale and large-scale purchasers. Their website also includes a wealth of information about paper types, papermaking, and environmental issues connected with the paper industry.
Co-op America at http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/woodwise/
Among many program areas, their WoodWise program helps consumers buy products that don’t promote deforestation at and includes information on ways to reduce junk mail at http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/woodwise/consumers/whatyoucando/stopjunk.cfm
Dogwood Alliance at http://www.dogwoodalliance.org/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/
A group that focuses on southern U.S. forests, with campaigns to change practices in the packaging industry and office supply sector as well as to promote conservation and sustainable forestry, including by exposing the inadequacy of the forest-products industry’s Sustainable Forestry Initiative certification system.
Environmental Defense Fund at www.edf.org
One program within this large environmental organization focuses on paper and packaging. Of particular interest is their paper calculator, which anyone can use to determine the environmental impact of a wide range of papers. http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=1439 for section on paper and http://www.edf.org/papercalculator/ for the paper calculator itself
Forest Ethics at http://www.forestethics.org/
Wages a campaign to “make junk mail history” with a Do Not Mail Registry. See their petition at http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/281/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=941
Green Press Initiative at http://www.greenpressinitiative.org/
Works with the book and newspaper industries to support use of environmental paper in publications. Has information for publishers about model paper policies, sources for environmentally responsible papers, and names of environmentally aware printers. Green Print at http://www.printgreener.com/ offers a free software download GreenPrint eliminates wasteful pages in any printout automatically, saving you time and money, protecting trees, reducing greenhouse gasses, and decreasing waste. It does so by analyzing each page sent to your printer and looking for typical waste characteristics -- like a final page with just a URL, banner ad, logo, or legal jargon.
Markets Initiative at http://www.marketsinitiative.org/
Similar to the Green Press Initiative but located in Canada, MI focuses on the publishing industry – books, newspapers, and magazines – and promoting the use of Ancient Forest Friendly paper. It also provides information about several forest certification schemes to help buyers understand which is preferable.
Forest Protection and Sustainable Paper Production
-
Environmental Investigation Agency at http://www.eia-international.org/campaigns/forests/
Engages in work on forest loss and its impact on communities and climate as well as on illegal trade in animals
Environmental Paper Network at www.environmentalpaper.org
As well as being the source of several important publications (see above), the Environmental Paper Network coordinates a range of non-profits involved with forest protection and sustainable paper production and use. It also has a website with useful information about paper.
National Wildlife Federation at www.nwf.org
A large environmental organization with a focus on preservation of wildlife and a section on paper use and recycling at http://www.nwf.org/paper/index.cfm Along with the Natural Resources Defense Council, NWF has endorsed Catalog Choice (see above)
World Wildlife Fund at www.worldwildlife.org
A large environmental organization which, among other issues, works on forest protection and responsible forest-product sourcing at http://www.worldwildlife.org/what/globalmarkets/forests/index.html