Case
Study – The Paper Project
Introducing
30% Post Consumer Waste Recycled Paper at
Rutgers
University (New Brunswick Campus)
By Frances
Johnson
The Paper Project began at Rutgers University
as part of a ‘Greening Rutgers’ campaign. It was
undertaken in conjunction with Cook College and New Jersey
Higher Education Partnership for Sustainability (NJHEPS) to
examine paper usage, paper consumption and waste reduction,
and the purchase of recycled content paper for the University.
The project has two goals: to promote the use of 30% post
consumer waste (pcw) recycled paper, and to promote the awareness
of pertinent paper related issues at the institution. With
respect to recycled paper, three key issues are always of
great concern to potential users and purchasers of recycled
content paper. These issues include the price, performance
and quality of the recycled paper. As a result, careful examination
of each issue is necessary to ensure that the finest selection
of recycled paper is made for the University. By purchasing
recycled paper, Rutgers University contributes significantly
to environmental sustainability and natural resource conservation.
This project has been approached from various
angles. One such angle constitutes a behavioral approach;
another explores a structural approach. With respect to the
behavioral approach, several meeting were held with personnel
at Rutgers University to discuss the goals and direction of
the paper project. Student and faculty questionnaires were
developed to assess both students and faculty’s paper
usage and printing styles, to raise awareness of paper issues,
and to encourage persons to use paper in a more responsible
and environmentally conscious manner. To increase awareness,
paper tips were also presented at some orientations on the
New Brunswick Campus. A list of these tips is available on
the EnviroConnect Website for students’ and faculty’s
benefit. (http://aesop.rutgers.edu/~enviro/student_paper_tips.htm)
The structural approach to the paper project
involves the purchase of recycled paper for use at the University.
To demonstrate the quality and efficiency of the paper, a test was
conducted at the Loree Computer Lab on the Cook Campus. In the
one-week test, two identical printers, and eight cases of Great
White recycled paper (30% pcw) were used. Similar tests were also
performed at some departments on the Cook Campus. After comparing
the performance of the recycled paper and normal stock in the
printers, both the computer lab personnel and department personnel
concluded that the recycled paper performed satisfactorily.
Presently, although most persons are confident
about the performance of 30% recycled paper as compared to
virgin stock, they argue that the price of paper with recycled
content is higher than its virgin counterpart. The price of
30% recycled paper is competitive with that of virgin paper.
If very large quantities of recycled paper are ordered, paper
prices for recycled paper drop slightly less than that of
virgin paper. Meetings have been held with the New Jersey
Treasury Department (Distribution & Support Services -
DSS) and the Materials Services Department at Rutgers University
to discuss the purchase of recycled paper for Rutgers University.
Material Services has placed an order for four (4) pallets
of the Aspen brand recycled paper.
It is hoped that as our publicity campaign
makes the availability of recycled paper known to Rutgers personnel,
the paper will become more widely used within departments and
University wide. This initial large-scale purchase of recycled paper
for use at Rutgers University (New Brunswick Campus) can safely be
described as a milestone when one considers the numerous obstacles
that were encountered. These obstacles range from delayed responses
to emails, and phone calls, to absolute opposition to the use of
recycled paper in copiers, especially in high-speed Xerox machines.
The best advice is - be persistent.
