ARIZONA NEWSPAPERS MUST RECYCLE BY LAW


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TUCSON, Ariz. — Arizona requires that all state newspapers must be comprised of at least 40 percent recycled newsprint, a number that increased from 25 in 2000, according to Arizona Revised Statute 49-834.

Here are some other interesting facts about Arizona newspapers' environmental impact:

According to John Lundgren, the press room manager of Tucson Newspapers:

• 16,000 to 18,000 metric tons of recycled newsprint is used per year.
• Each roll of newsprint costs about $760.
• Approximately 27,000 newspapers can be printed with one roll of newsprint
• Recycled paper costs about the same as a mixed paper blend.
• Today, it would costs about $25 to $30 million to buy a new press similar to the current printer that Tucson Newspapers built in 1973 for $4.5 million.

According to Resourceful Schools:

• 38.2 percent of our total waste is from paper and paperboard.
• Each ton of recycled paper can save 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, 3 cubic yards of landfill space, 4,000 kilowatts of energy and 7,000 gallons of water.
• Americans use more than 67 million tons of paper per year, or about 580 pounds per person.
• Newspapers can be recycled 10 times.
• Paper products make up the largest part (approximately 40 percent) of our trash.
• Making recycled paper instead of new paper uses 64 percent less energy and uses 58 percent less water.
• Every day American businesses generate enough paper to circle the earth 20 times.
• Every day Americans recover more than 2 million pounds of paper. That's about 40 percent of the paper we use.
• Paper products use up at least 35 percent of the world's annual commercial wood harvest.
• The highest point in Ohio is said to be "Mount Rumpke," which is a "mountain" made up of trash — at a sanitary landfill! Rumpke is one of the nation's largest waste and recycling companies.
• One tree can filter up to 60 pounds of pollutants from the air each year.
• Each year, Americans throw away 25 trillion Styrofoam cups.
• In Britain, over 9 million "nappies" or disposable diapers, are used every day.
• More than 1/3 of all fiber used to make paper comes from recycled paper.
• Every Sunday, Americans throw away 90 percent of recyclable newspapers. This wastes 500,000 trees!
• A new landfill generally costs more than an old one that has filled up. This is because it typically costs more to comply with new environmental regulations, to buy the land, to construct the landfill and to transport waste because new landfills generally are farther away than older ones.
• Every year more than 900 million trees are cut down to provide raw materials for American paper and pulp mills.
• Only 1 percent of the world's water supply is usable; 97 percent is in the ocean and 2 percent is frozen.

RECYCLED NEWSPRINT PUT TO WORK

Obviously, a newspaper's press room is going to have a lot of paper involved. This was no exception at the printing press for Tucson newspapers.

Lundgren took us through the process, showing us where the paper comes from, how much waste the papers produce, and how they get recycled.