At UVM, a few departments kept buying the back stock, but Hammermill's days were numbered. All of these considerations were, and continue to be, major obstacles for many people interested in purchasing recycled paper. But in the case of performance, the obstacle is only a perception. Price, on the other hand, remains a significant obstacle. The federal government succeeded in negotiating low prices for its recycled paper through bulk purchasing, but the price on the open market remains higher than virgin paper.
Availability also remains an issue.
My local office supply store offers eight choices of letter-sized copier paper, and only one contains recycled content. Apparently the demand is not there, and so the supply isn't there either. Despite these obstacles, you can find recycled paper if you want it, at a reasonable enough price that many offices in government agencies, schools, businesses, and institutions use at least some recycled copier paper. The paper looks, acts, and costs about the same, so most people don't have to think about it. The few people who want to think about it have other choices to weigh about paper purchasing.