green
tick
Recycling offers more
than just a
The 2008 recession had a big impact
on the viability of green products.
Companies felt that products that came
at a higher cost were unsustainable.
When redundancies were being made
and household brands were closing their
doors, rather than thinking about the
environment, many companies could only
see the immediate bottom line.
But what if recycling could offer your
business ongoing numerous benefits;
including saving you money and helping
you improve the long term outlook for
your shareholders? Meet Closed Loop
Recycling.
Closed loop recycling takes a traditional
cycle of ‘trees to paper to end-use to
waste’ and applies a new approach which
recycles and reuses the product and is
efficient in the supply chain. Whereby once
upon a time we were not recycling at all,
habits and trends have changed. Bit by bit
we are recycling at home, as consumers
and in the work place. It means fewer
trees are needed as the raw material, thus
helping the environment and by reusing
the waste paper, the costs are driven
down thereby helping the business.
In addition, a great improvement in
the process is the introduction of
accreditations, legislations such as
waste transfer documents and cleansed
processes to avoid any waste being
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wrongly disposed of or falling foul of
rogue trader. An efficient supply chain
management enhances company
credibility under this new regime.
Rather than in the old way where waste
paper was just trash to a landfill; how about
it now being collected in waste paper bins
especially allocated for its collection. These
are then collected by the vendor that
originally sold the paper, perhaps when
virgin pulp and recycled in the system at
any one time.
Traditionally recycled paper has always
been more expensive. However, with
the introduction of the Closed Loop
Recycling programme you can now buy
recycled paper at the same price as
virgin pulp paper. Sustainability v Price
can be achieved by collaboration.
With a Closed Loop programme there
Recycled paper is every bit as good as
virgin pulp paper but we do need to accept
the differences.
the next office supplies consignment is
dropped off, and transported back to the
mill for processing and grading.
This paper is then sorted and graded
to make 100% recycled 80gsm grade
A paper. The paper is then sold back
to the vendor to be resold to the clients
and a great price.
Introducing a small percentage of
recycled paper is crucial to the mix of
are other savings, both tangible and
intangible. How about the impact to
the vendors and supply chains, which
now becomes multi-use. It would mean
less frequent visits, so fewer personnel
to your site, fewer vans on the road
and a reduction in administration time
processing invoices.
Using recycled paper alone conserves
natural resources, saves energy
and reduces greenhouse gas. The
production process alone saves 83%
less water, 72% less energy and 53%
less CO2.
Some of the common questions asked
about recycled paper include: Is it fit for
purpose? Does it work as well? And does
it look the part?
We love pure white paper in the UK but
is it just habit; can we make a change or
can we change attitudes towards it within
our own businesses? We understand
a business may wish to continue to
use bright, white virgin paper for some
printing tasks, in particular customerfacing contracts and quotations for
example. That said, a lot of office paper
is used for internal documents that go no
further than from one desk to another or
one printer to the bin.
Like any product on the market, there
are good and better versions. Try some,
test it and we guarantee you won’t be
disappointed.
Recycled paper is every bit as good
as virgin pulp paper but we do need to
accept the differences.
Anecdotally, I hear that our friends in
Europe frown upon an employee printing
documents on bright, white paper. It’s not
the ‘done thing’. We in the UK are coming
from a different place, where virgin white
paper currently dominates our market.
Projects like this are engaging for your
own internal staff, not just for the clients.
It’s better to look at the bigger picture
and all of the added benefits. Educate
and engage your staff and clients so they
understand why the decision has been
made to use recycled paper. They can
in turn explain this and demonstrate an
environmental conscience, which can
create a shared atmosphere of unity.
The more we do, the more the market
will and can grow. The more that’s
produced and bought, the lower the
costs. This should open doors for other
s