Think Globally
Additional Notes
Sometimes people wonder why all paper can’t be recycled over and over and over again. The reason has to do with the length of the paper fibers. Each time the paper is recycled, the paper fibers get shorter and shorter and shorter. They can only be recycled so many times before they are too short to layer over one another to form the sheet of paper. Thus, there are several generations of recycled paper and an example of a full cycle may look something like this: virgin white office paper -> recycled notebook paper -> corrugated cardboard -> brown paper bag or paperboard (cereal box) -> TP or tissue paper.
Between recyclable and recycled there IS a difference! Next time you go to the grocery store or go to buy school supplies, read the packages.
Recyclable means that a product and/or its packaging could be recycled by you in your community if that service is available.
Recycled means that the product and/or its packaging was recycled and made into a new product that you are about to purchase—this is often the most important part of recycling because if you did not buy back recycled content items, you would just be sorting your garbage.
Both Recyclable and Recycled products and packaging are important when you buy as they help the environment by cutting down on energy and resource use as well as landfill space.
To learn more about recycling, recyclable, and recycled products and shopping smart, check out Earth 911’s Shopping page.