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Recycling
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All of the materials used in an envelope are recyclable. People just don’t realize it.
Paper manufactured from wood or plant fibers is recyclable. It is estimated that 80% of U.S. paper mills use recycled and recovered fiber to produce new products. End uses for recovered fibers are limited because fiber recovery is costly, fibers can not be recovered indefinitely, and fibers cannot be upgraded from their previous end use.
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To illustrate this point, approximately 85% of recovered fiber comes from old corrugated containers, old news papers, or mixed office waste and the majority of paper produced from recovered fibers are corrugated, paperboards, and tissue.
The latest challenge for the supply of recovered paper is the increasing demand for recovered fibers from foreign sources.
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Direct mail accounts for only 2.2% (in weight) of the total municipal solid waste generated in the United States annually, according to U.S. EPA data. That figure is likely to decline as greater strides are made in paper recovery and recycling.
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The paper industry recovered 50.3% of the paper used in the United States in 2006. That’s an increase from 33.5% in 1990, according to the American Forest & Paper Association. AF&PA has set a goal for recovery of 55% by 2012. The envelope industry is committed to doing their part to reach that number.
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"I encourage advertisers, designers, transactional mailers and all of our customers to assist us in recovering more used mail for recycling through existing municipal waste streams, and in recovering our packaging materials through similar waste collection systems."
Maynard Benjamin,
President and CEO,
Envelope Manufacturers Association Foundation
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""Responsible environmental stewardship starts with you. Envelopes made with recycled materials minimize the strain on nonrenewable resources
such as water, energy and trees. Choose materials wisely and use recycle logos to encourage your audiences to recycle their envelopes, even the ones with windows!"
Debra Rizzi,
Partner,
Rizco Design
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