2000 Buy-Recycled Series

Paper Products

United States 

Environmental Protection 

Agency

EPA530-F-00-013

April 2000

www.epa.gov/cpg

Solid Waste

and Emergency Response

(5306W)

1EPA

Ten years ago, very little recycled-content

printing and writing paper existed. Now,

it’s readily available, along with recycledcontent newsprint, paper towels, and corrugated

packaging—and at higher quality and more

competitive prices than ever before. That’s in

part due to government initiatives since 1988,

when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA) issued the Procurement Guideline for Paper and Paper Products

Containing Recovered Materials. The 1988 paper guideline’s buy-recycled

requirements are now part of EPA’s Comprehensive Procurement

Guideline (CPG).

To make it easier to buy recycled, EPA updates the CPG every 2 years.

Through the CPG, EPA designates items that must contain recycled

content when purchased by federal, state, and local agencies, or by

government contractors, using appropriated federal funds. Among these

items, EPA has designated many paper products. EPA’s research shows

that the items designated in the CPG are of high quality, widely available,

and cost competitive with virgin products. EPA also issues nonregulatory

companion guidance—the Recovered Materials Advisory Notice

(RMAN)—that recommends levels of recycled content for these items. In

May 1995 EPA published the Paper Products RMAN, and in June 1998

EPA updated the recommendations for paper products in the Paper

Products RMAN II, which incorporates all current requirements for

recycled-content papers.

Although federal agencies have made great strides in buying recycledcontent paper, more can be done. After all, paper is still the most

predominant material in our trash. So, the next time you stock up on

paper for your printer, copy machine, cafeteria, or restrooms, buy

recycled. You’ll help create a demand for the used office paper, old

newspapers, and boxes we recycle every day.

EcoPurchasing means

considering attributes 

such as

❖

recycled content

toxicity

reusability

durability

repairability

❖

before you buy 

a product.

2 Printed on paper that contains at least 30 percent postconsumer fiber.

PAPER
Recycling is more than just dropping

off your cans, bottles, and newspapers at the curb or at the local

collection facility. Diverting recyclables

from the waste stream is only the first of

three steps in the recycling process. The

second step occurs when companies use

these recyclables to manufacture new

products. The third step comes when you

purchase products made from recovered

materials. That’s how we close the loop.

To support markets for the materials

collected in recycling programs and to help

these programs expand, the Resource

Conservation and Recovery Act requires

agencies to buy recycled products

designated by EPA. In addition, President

Clinton signed Executive Order 13101 in

September 1998, which called for an

increase in the federal government’s use of

recycled-content and other environmentally preferable products. Moreover, it

created a requirement that all agencies

purchase 30-percent postconsumer paper

on or before December 31, 1998.

Issued in May 1995, the first CPG

designated 19 new products and incorporated five previously designated items

(including paper and paper products) in

seven product categories. Procuring

agencies are required to purchase these

items with recycled content. The first CPG

update (CPG II) was published in November 1997, but designated no new paper

products. A second CPG update (CPG III)

was published in January 2000 but it also

designated no new paper products. 

Procuring agencies include all federal

agencies, and any state or local government

agency or government contractor that uses

appropriated federal funds to purchase the

designated items. If your agency spends

more than $10,000 per year on a product

designated in the CPG, you are required 

to purchase it with the highest recycledcontent level practicable. The CPG also

applies to lease contracts covering

designated items.

Once designated, an agency has 1 year

to develop an affirmative procurement

program (or revise an existing one) for a

designated item it purchases. By June 22,

1989, agencies were required to develop

affirmative procurement programs to

incorporate buy-recycled requirements for

paper and paper products. Agencies can

still develop or modify their pograms if

they haven’t already done so. This effort

might involve reviewing specifications for

those products and eliminating provisions

that pose barriers to procuring them with

recycled content (such as aesthetic requirements unrelated to product performance).

The CPG acknowledges, however, that

specific circumstances might arise that

preclude the purchase of products made

with recovered materials. Your agency may

purchase designated items that do not

contain recovered materials if it determines

that: 1) the price of a given designated item

made with recovered materials is unreasonably high, 2) there is inadequate

competition (not enough sources of

supply), 3) unusual and unreasonable

delays would result from obtaining the

item, or 4) the recycled-content item does

not meet the agency’s reasonable performance specifications.

What Is The CPG?

2

The CPG

requires

federal

agencies 

to give

preference

to items

made from

recovered

materials.
The RMAN

recommends

recycledcontent

levels to

look for

when

purchasing

paper

products.

How Do I Purchase Recycled-Content Paper Products?

Key Terms

Before buying recycled-content paper

products meeting EPA’s

recommendations, you’ll need to

understand some important terms.

Postconsumer fiber:

• Is the paper recovered in our homes and

offices.

• Does not include newsstand returns and

printers’ overruns.

Recovered fiber:

• Includes scrap generated at mills after the

end of the papermaking process; converting

and printing scrap; newsstand returns and

printers’ overruns; obsolete inventory of

mills, printers, and others; damaged stock;

and postconsumer fiber.

• Is not waste. EPA has replaced the term

waste paper used in the 1988 guidelines

with recovered fiber, to acknowledge that

this material is a valuable resource.

• Must be repulped. Paper cannot simply be

re-cut or repackaged to count as recoveredcontent paper.

• Does not include forest residues such as

sawdust and wood chips from forestry

operations.

Mill broke:

• Is scrap generated in a mill prior to the

completion of the papermaking process. 

• EPA recommends that you allow mills to

count the recycled-content portion of mill

broke. You should not count the

nonrecycled-content portion, however.

Recycled-Content

Recommendations

The Paper Products RMAN II

recommends recycled-content levels

that you can look for when purchasing

paper products, as shown in the chart on the

following pages. Use EPA’s RMAN recommendations as a starting point. The recommendations are based on market research

used to identify recycled-content products

that are commercially available. 

Rather than specifying just one level of

recycled content, the RMAN recommends

ranges for many paper products, which

reflect what is currently available in the

United States. The recycled content of paper

products varies; therefore, you should

contact local paper mills or merchants to

determine product availability. Try to

purchase paper containing the highest

content that is available to you.

When buying paper other than printing

and writing paper, specify that you want

paper “containing X percent recovered fiber,

including Y percent postconsumer fiber.”

(For most printing and writing papers, you

can simply say you’re looking for 30 percent

postconsumer content.)

In addition, make sure you measure

recovered and postconsumer fiber content as

a percentage of the weight of all fiber in the

paper, not as a percentage of the total weight

of the sheet. (The total weight also includes

the weight of dyes, fillers, and water used in

the manufacturing process.)

3
RMAN Levels for Paper Products

Item Notes

Recovered

Content

(%)

Postconsumer

Content (%)

Printing and Writing Papers

Cotton fiber High-quality papers used for stationery, invitations,

currency, ledgers, maps, and other specialty items

30 30

Text and cover Premium papers used for cover stock, books, and

stationery and matching envelopes

30 30

Papeteries Used for invitations and greeting cards 30 30

Offset Used for book publishing, commercial printing,

direct mail, technical documents, and manuals

30 30

Reprographic Business papers such as bond, electrostatic, copy,

mimeo, duplicator, and reproduction

30 30

Forms bond Bond type papers used for business forms such as

continuous, cash register, sales book, unit sets, and

computer printout, excluding carbonless

30 30

Tablet Office paper such as note pads and notebooks 30 30

Envelope Wove 30 30

Kraft, white and colored (including manila) 10–20 10–20

Kraft, unbleached 10 10

Excludes custom envelopes

Supercalendered Groundwood paper used for advertising and mail

order inserts, catalogs, and some magazines

10 10

Machine finished

groundwood

Groundwood paper used in magazines and catalogs 10 10

Check safety Used in the manufacture of commercial and

government checks

10 10

Coated Used for annual reports, posters, brochures, and

magazines. Have gloss, dull, or matte finishes

10 10

Carbonless Used for multiple-impact copy forms 30 30

File folders Manila or colored 30 30

Dyed filing products Used for multicolored hanging folders and wallet files 20–50 20

Index and card stock Used for index cards and postcards 50 20

Pressboard High-strength paperboard used in binders and

report covers

50 20

Tags and tickets Used for toll and lottery tickets, licenses, and

identification and tabulating cards

20–50 20

4
Item Notes

Recovered

Content 

(%)

Postconsumer

Content (%)

Commercial Sanitary Tissue Products

Bathroom tissue Used in rolls or sheets 20–100 20–60

Paper towels Used in rolls or sheets 40–100 40–60

Paper napkins Used in food service applications 30–100 30–60

Facial tissue Used for personal care 10–100 10–15

General-purpose 

industrial wipers Used in cleaning and wiping applications 40–100 40

Paperboard and Packaging Products

Corrugated containers Used for packaging and shipping a variety of

goods

(<300 psi) 25–50 25–50

(300 psi) 25–30 25–30

Solid fiber boxes Used for specialized packaging needs such as

dynamite packaging and army ration boxes

40 40

Folding cartons Used to package a wide variety of foods,

household products, cosmetics,

pharmaceuticals, detergent, and hardware

100 40–80

Industrial paperboard Used to create tubes, cores, cans, and drums 100 45–100

Miscellaneous Includes “chipboard” pad backings, book

covers, covered binders, mailing tubes, game

boards, and puzzles

90–100 75–100

Padded mailers Made from kraft paper that is usually brown

but can be bleached white

5–15 5–15

Carrierboard A type of folding carton designed for multipack

beverage cartons

10–100 10–15

Brown papers Used for bags and wrapping paper 5–40 5–20

Miscellaneous Paper Products

Tray liners Used to line food service trays. Often contain

printed information

100 50–75

Newsprint

Newsprint Groundwood paper used in newspapers 20–100 20–85

5
Paper Buying Tips

To make it even easier to buy

recycled-content paper products,

EPA offers the following purchasing

tips for the various paper product

categories outlined in the RMAN.

Printing and writing papers comprise one

of the largest categories of paper and paper

products. Examples include stationery,

computer printout paper, note pads, copier

paper, and offset paper. Printing and

writing papers can be uncoated or coated.

When buying printing and writing

paper, remember to:

• Work with your printer. Different papers

exhibit differences in performance and

printability. Some printers might first

want to test certain papers with a

particular ink. Printers also can help you

select papers based on how they will be

used (i.e., whether they will be folded,

die-cut, or made into self-mailers).

• Work with your graphic designer. Some

papers are better than others for certain

design needs. Make sure both the

designer and printer agree that the paper

you choose will meet your expectations.

• Consider the environmental

ramifications of your purchasing

decisions. Papers with certain

characteristics, such as deep colors,

coatings, or groundwood content, might

not be recyclable in your existing office

paper recycling program or might

require changes to the program.

Consider the effects of your paper

purchases before deciding to purchase a

specific paper.

❖

Newsprint is a type of groundwood paper

generally used to print newspapers.

Recycled-content newsprint is usually

manufactured from fiber recovered from old

newspapers and magazines. The federal

government uses newsprint for printing the

Federal Register, Congressional Record, and

other publications.

When purchasing newsprint, consider

these helpful hints:

• Pay attention to newsprint’s basis

weight. Basis weight is the weight in

pounds of a ream of paper cut to a

specified size. Different weights hold up

better in different presses. Recycledcontent newsprint ranging from 25 to 32

pounds generally performs well. The

U.S. Government Printing Office

specifies 28 pound recycled-content

newsprint. 

• Consider your requirements for the

newsprint you’re buying. Recycledcontent newsprint manufacturers are

making products that meet their clients’

performance requirements (e.g., printability, brightness, cleanliness, and

opacity).

• Determine whether newsprint is

recyclable in your existing recycling

program. Some office paper recycling

programs do not accept groundwood

papers such as newsprint; find out

whether yours does before you buy

newsprint. 

❖

How Do I Purchase Recycled-Content Paper Products? (Continued)

Remember to

specify 

recycledcontent

papers in

printing and

janitorial

contracts.

6
Sanitary tissue products include

bathroom and facial tissue, paper towels,

napkins, and general-purpose industrial

wipers. When purchasing these products

remember these tips:

• Avoid misconceptions about softness,

absorbency, and strength. Some

recycled-content sanitary tissue

products are softer, stronger, and more

absorbent than others. Consider your

aesthetic and functional requirements

for tissue products before purchasing a

specific product.

• Remember to review your janitorial

supply contracts because commercial

tissue products are often purchased

through contractors. Make sure your

supply contracts specify recycledcontent, not virgin, products.

• When changing brands, consider other

factors that could influence your

purchasing decision. When switching

from sheet to roll paper towels, for

example, you might incur costs to

replace dispensers or fixtures if such

costs are not borne by the supplier.

❖ 

Paperboard and packaging is a broad

category of paper products that includes

corrugated containers, folding cartons,

book and report covers, mailing tubes,

video cassette boxes, paper bags, and

wrapping paper. They can be

manufactured with a wide variety of

recovered fibers including old

newspapers, old corrugated containers,

mixed papers, and sorted white office

paper. In fact, paperboard mills use more

recovered fiber than any other segment of

the paper industry.

When purchasing recycled-content

paperboard and packaging consider 

these tips:

• Remember, you can print on recycled

boxes, not just on virgin, bleached boxes.

• Be aware that you can use recycled

boxes in food applications and still

meet Food and Drug Administration

requirements.

❖

Determine

whether your

existing

recycling

program

includes

newsprint and

packaging.

7
Information Available from EPA

This fact sheet and the following publications on

buying recycled-content products are available or

can be accessed in electronic format on the

Internet at <www.epa.gov/cpg>. Use Internet 

e-mail to order paper copies of documents.

Include the requestor’s name and mailing address on all orders.

Address e-mail to: rcra-docket@epamail.epa.gov. 

Paper copies also may be ordered by calling the RCRA Hotline.

Callers within the Washington Metropolitan Area must dial 703

412-9810 or TDD 703 412-3323 (hearing impaired). Longdistance callers may call 800 424-9346 or TDD 800 553-7672.

The RCRA Hotline operates weekdays, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00

p.m., e.s.t.

❖ EPA Expands Comprehensive Procurement Guideline

(CPG) (EPA530-F-00-017). This fact sheet provides general

information about the CPG and the development of

affirmative procurement programs.

❖ Federal Register (FR) notices promulgating CPG I (60 FR

21370/EPA530-Z-95-006) and RMAN I (60 FR 21386/EPA530-

Z-95-007), May 1, 1995, and the Paper Products RMAN (60

FR 26986/EPA530-Z-96-005), May 29, 1996. FR notices

promulgating CPG II (62 FR 60961/EPA530-Z-97-009) and

RMAN II (62 FR 60975/EPA530-Z-97-010), November 13,

1997, and the Paper Products RMAN II (63 FR 31214), June 8,

1998. FR notices promulgating CPG III (65 FR 3070) and

RMAN III (65 FR 3082), January 19, 2000.

❖ A Study of State and Local Government Procurement

Practices that Consider Environmental Performance of

Goods and Services (EPA742-R-96-007). This report

provides important program elements and case studies of

state and county agencies purchasing environmentally

preferable products and services. For more information on

EPA’s Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) program,

contact the Pollution Prevention Information Clearinghouse at

401 M Street, SW. (7409), Washington, DC 20460. Phone:

202 260-1023. Fax: 202 260-4659. Visit the EPP Web site at

<www.epa.gov/oppt/epp>.

❖ Mills, Converters, and Distributors of Printing and Writing

Paper Containing Postconsumer Recovered Fiber

(EPA530-R-99-006).

❖ Mills That Produce Newsprint Containing Postconsumer

Recovered Paper (EPA530-B-99-013).

❖ Mills That Produce Tissue Products Containing Recovered

Paper (EPA530-B-99-012).

Other Sources of Information

❖ U.S. General Services Administration

(GSA). GSA’s Environmental Products Guide

contains more than 1,500 paper and paper

products containing recovered materials. For a

copy of the guide, contact GSA, Centralized

Mailing List Service (7CPNL), 401 West Felix Street, P.O. Box

6477, Fort Worth, TX 76115. Phone: 817 334-5215. Fax: 817

334-5227.

❖ U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO). GPO provides a

variety of recycled-content printing papers to federal agencies.

To view federal printing paper specifications see the GPO Web

site at <www.access.gpo.gov/qualitycontrol/paperspecs/

index.html>. For more information about papers available from

GPO, contact Doris Reynolds, Printing Specialist, U.S. GPO,

Paper and Materials Control Section, Stop POL, North Capitol

and H Streets, NW., Washington, DC 20401. Phone: 202 512-

0241.

❖ The Official Recycled Products Guide. This directory lists more

than 5,000 manufacturers and distributors of recycled-content

products. For more information, contact the Recycling Data

Management Corp., P.O. Box 577, Ogdensburg, NY 13669.

Phone: 800 267-0707.

❖ Recycling at Work Campaign. The Recycling at Work

Campaign has published several guidebooks on setting up and

promoting office buy-recycled and recycling programs. For

more information, contact Geri Powell of the Recycling at Work

Campaign, 1620 Eye Street, NW., Sixth Floor, Washington, DC

20006. Phone: 202 293-7330 Ext. 774. Fax: 202 429-0422.

How Do I Get More Information?

1EPA

United States

Environmental Protection Agency

(5306W)

Ariel Rios Building

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.

Washington, DC 20460

Official Business 

Penalty for Private Use $300

In addition, contact your state solid waste agency for

information about local and regional businesses that

produce or distribute recycled-content paper products.