Bloomberg Launches ReMix in NYC

Mayor Bloomberg recently announced(VIDEO), from the top of the Empire State Building, the New York City launch of ReMix - Recycling Magazines is Excellent! - a national public education campaign aimed at increasing residential recycling of magazines and catalogs. Beginning next week, ReMix promotions will appear across New York City, in full-page public service advertisements in consumer magazines as well as on buses and subways, in movie theatres, on cable television, and in other outlets.

In explaining some of the reasons for this effort, Mayor Bloomberg speaks plain truth including the fact that "making new paper produces more greenhouse gases than paper recycling."

Unfortunately, amidst this very positive announcement, was something confusing from the head of Hearst Magazines. Cathie Black stated that they were on the fast track to having at least 80% of their magazines coming from forests "certified to a widely accepted third party standard." Well, the only "widely accepted" certification of well managed forests is the Forest Stewardship Council, a fact supported by the consensus of hundred of conservation organizations and numerous studies. But the fact that she did not specify is a signal that they may attempt to deceive consumers by using another certification scheme without the same credibility. Not to mention the fact that she said nothing at all about using recycled paper, which would of course be best of all.

The Paper Planet challenges Cathie Black and Hearst to continue it path to responsibility, which it has made many notable accomplishments in, by adopting a responsible paper policy that includes a high percentage of recycled paper content and gives preference to only Forest Stewardship Council certification forest fiber.