Monday, November 26, 2007

File this one under ironic...


This is absolutely hilarious, the direct marketer's are installing recycling bins to save money and yet they send out millions of pounds of junk mail a year to American homes... when will the insanity end?

Direct Marketer’s Recycle Bins Save $500,000 Per Year

Direct Marketer’s Recycle Bins Save $500,000 Per Year

Direct mail and marketing firm PEP-Direct says it will save approximately $500,000 a year working with International Paper Products Corp. to reduce the amount of waste it sends to landfills and reduce the cost of waste removal, DM News reports.

IPP is providing signage and receptacles for PEP’s non-recyclable materials such as label stock and packaging. The companies have been working together for about a month.

IPP empties the recycle bins once or twice a week (the company will travel up to 100 miles from its Westfield, MA plant) and then compacts the waste into Enviro-Fuelcubes, which are burned in place of fossil fuels. PEP is using the arrangement to promote a greener image.

Monday, November 19, 2007

Catalog Choice in New York Times

Catalog Choice, the new, free service from Environmental Paper Network member organizations NWF, NRDC, and the Ecology Center (Berkeley) which lets consumers easily opt out of catalogs they no longer wish to receive, its still growing, and so is the buzz. Today, the New York Times.

The initiative is tapping into a lot of common sense and has a growing list of companies partnering up with it, such as L.L. Bean. In the NYTimes article, L.L. Bean says, "We don't want people to get our catalogs who don't want our catalogs. We don't want to waste paper or our customer's time."

Since October 9, Catalog Choice has helped 165,000 people opt out of almost 1.7 million catalogs.

Thank goodness. The Environmental Paper Network's State of the Paper Industry Report shows that experts have been predicting continued, rapid growth of paper use, and increasing environmental challenges as a result. Efforts like Catalog Choice are critical to changing the course.

Simon and Shuster Steps Up Recycled Paper Use in US

From Environmental Leader:

For books printed and bound in the U.S., Simon & Schuster plans to increase the level of recycled fiber in its purchased paper to 25 percent or more by 2012, a 150 percent increase from a current 10 percent baseline level.

Simon & Schuster purchases approximately 70,000 tons of paper annually. At current production levels, the shift to 25 percent recycled fiber will result in saving approximately 483,000 trees annually and reducing greenhouse gases by nearly 85 million pounds, the company reports.

Thursday, November 01, 2007

Canada's Biggest Printer Adopts Paper Purchasing Policy

Thanks to help from EPN member Markets Initiative, Transcontinental has announced the implementation of a Paper Purchasing Policy that promotes the use of environmentally preferable papers through a classification process that allows clients to make an informed choice regarding the paper they choose for their printing and publishing needs.

“Transcontinental is the first major North American print-media conglomerate to take such a comprehensive step towards safeguarding our forests and our climate,” said Nicole Rycroft, Executive Director, Markets Initiative. “This is good news for caribou, forests such as the Boreal and for clients looking for environmental printing solutions. We look forward to other major North American and global printers and publishers developing environmental paper initiatives.”

The largest printer in Canada and sixth-largest in North America, Transcontinental also ranks as the country’s leading publisher of consumer magazines and French-language educational resources, and its second-largest community newspaper publisher.

For more information about Transcontinental’s Environmental Policy, including its Paper Purchasing Policy, click here.