Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines for Paper and Paper Products
EPA designated the following paper products under the Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines (CPG) program to promote the use of materials recovered from municipal solid waste (MSW). Recycled-content recommendations for each item are listed below.
- Printing and Writing Papers
- Newsprint
- Commercial/Industrial Sanitary Tissue
- Paperboard and Packaging
- Miscellaneous Paper Products
Printing and Writing Papers
Printing and writing papers comprise one of the largest categories of paper and paper products. Examples include copier paper, stationery, computer printout, offset paper and note pads. Printing and writing paper can be either coated or uncoated.
EPA's Recovered Materials Advisory Notice (RMAN) recommends that procuring agencies establish minimum content standards expressed as a percentage of recovered fiber, including a percentage of postconsumer fiber. For most grades, EPA recommends postconsumer fiber content. Postconsumer fiber does not include newsstand returns or printer's overruns.
| Product | Postconsumer Fiber (%) | Total Recovered Fiber (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Reprographic Paper (e.g., mimeo and duplicator paper, high-speed copier paper, and bond paper) | 30 | 30 |
| Offset Paper (e.g., offset printing paper, book paper, and bond paper) | 30 | 30 |
| Tablet Paper (e.g., offset paper such as note pads, stationery, and other writing papers) | 30 | 30 |
| Forms Bond (e.g., forms, computer printout paper, and ledger) | 30 | 30 |
|
Envelope Paper
|
30 10-20 10 |
30 10-20 10 |
| Cotton Fiber Paper (e.g., cotton fiber papers, ledger, stationery and matching envelopes, and other writing papers) | 30 | 30 |
| Text & Cover Paper (e.g., cover stock, book paper, stationery and matching envelopes, and other writing paper) | 30 | 30 |
| Supercalendered | 10 | 10 |
| Machine Finish Groundwood | 10 | 10 |
| Papeteries | 30 | 30 |
| Check Safety Paper | 10 | 10 |
¹Most of these items can be made from a variety of printing and writing papers, depending on the performance characteristics of the item. Some of the papers are a commodity-type and some are specialty papers. EPA recommends that procuring agencies determine the performance characteristics required of the paper prior to establishing minimum content standards. Bond, ledger or stationery made from cotton fiber paper or a text & cover paper, for example, have different characteristics than similar items made from commodity papers.
| Product | Postconsumer Fiber (%): | Recovered Fiber (%): |
|---|---|---|
| Coated Printing Paper | 10 | 10 |
| Carbonless | 30 | 30 |
| Product | Postconsumer Fiber (%) | Total Recovered Fiber (%) |
|---|---|---|
| File Folders (manila and colored) | 30 | 30 |
| Dyed Filing Products | 20 | 20-50 |
| Cards (index, postal, and other, including index sheets) | 20 | 50 |
| Pressboard Report Covers and Binders | 20 | 50 |
| Tags and Tickets | 20 | 50 |
Vendors, Researchers and Related Organizations
To locate vendors, researchers and other organizations about recycled content below, use the tabs below. Click on your matching area of interest for a collection of related links.
Federal Government Vendors of Paper
- Government Printing Office
- General Services Administration
Commercial Online Vendors of Papers with Recycled Content
The following links exit the site Exit
- Staples - Eco Easy Products
- Office Depot - Buy Green
- Future Friendly
- LetsGoGreen.biz
- AbilityOne
- Green Earth Office Supply
- Dolphin Blue
- Betty Mills
- Sappi
- Jam Paper & Envelope
- GreenLine Paper Company
- Echo Paper
- The Paper Mill Store
Manufacturers
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- Neenah Paper
- Resolute Forest Products
- American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Forest Bioproducts Division's List of Paper Manufacturers
Paper Mills
The following links exit the site Exit
- List of North American Paper Mills
- The Paper Mill Store's Manufacturing Partners
- The Paper Mill Store's Recycled Paper Shop
State Resources
- California
- Washington
Resources in Researching Paper Types, Attributes, Manufacturers and Mills
The following links exit the site Exit
Paper Index Paper Industry and Other Paper Related Organizations/Publications
The following links exit the site Exit
- American Forestry and Paper Association
- AF & PA paper products glossary
- PaperAge
- The Environmental Paper Network (EPN)
- Recycled Paper Recovery Report
- EcoBusiness Links
- Responsible Purchasing Network
The Report on the Availability of Printing and Writing Papers Listed in the CPG Paper RMAN fulfills the requirement in the implementing instructions of Executive Order 13423, March 29, 2007, for EPA to report to the Federal Environmental Executive on the availability of printing and writing paper with recycled content. This report can serve as a good resources to those looking to buy recycled-content paper.
Newsprint
Newsprint is a type of groundwood paper generally used to print newspapers. Recovered-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.
EPA's Recovered Materials Advisory Notice (RMAN) recommends that procuring agencies establish minimum content standards expressed as a percentage of recovered fiber, including a percentage of postconsumer fiber. For most grades, EPA recommends postconsumer fiber content. Postconsumer fiber does not include newsstand returns or printer's overruns.
| Product | Postconsumer Fiber (%) | Total Recovered Fiber (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Newsprint | 20-85 | 20-100 |
Commercial/Industrial Sanitary Tissue
Sanitary tissue products include bathroom and facial tissue, paper towels, napkins and general-purpose industrial wipers. They are generally sold in rolls or sheets and are used in personal care, food service and cleaning applications. The grades of sanitary tissue products covered in the CPG are manufactured for use by restaurants, hotels, schools, government agencies and other similar commercial and institutional buyers. Some recycled-content sanitary tissue products are softer, stronger and more absorbent than others.
EPA's Recovered Materials Advisory Notice (RMAN) recommends that procuring agencies establish minimum content standards expressed as a percentage of recovered fiber, including a percentage of postconsumer fiber. For most grades, EPA recommends postconsumer fiber content. Postconsumer fiber does not include newsstand returns or printer's overruns.
| Product | Postconsumer Fiber (%) | Total Recovered Fiber (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Bathroom Tissue | 20-60 | 20-100 |
| Paper Towels | 40-60 | 40-100 |
| Paper Napkins | 30-60 | 30-100 |
| Facial Tissue | 10-15 | 10-100 |
| General Purpose Industrial Wipers | 40 | 40-100 |
Paperboard and Packaging
The paperboard and packaging category covers two major types of board: "containerboard" used to make corrugated shipping containers, and "paperboard" used in a wide variety of packaging applications such as folding cartons, blister cards, beverage carriers, book and report covers, mailing tubes, video cassette boxes and others.
Containerboard (corrugated board) is actually a composite paperboard made by sandwiching fluted "corrugating medium" in between layers of linerboard. Linerboard, made primarily from both virgin and recovered fiber from old corrugated containers (OCC), is used to make the inner and outer walls of a box. The inside, fluted medium layer in the middle is made from postconsumer recovered fiber from OCC, old newspapers (ONP), used office paper and mixed papers or virgin fiber.
Paperboard containing recovered fiber is a multi-ply material, formed in layers of recovered fiber. Often grey in appearance, a white top layer made from recovered office paper is often used to provide a clean printing surface. Paperboard mills use more recovered fiber than any other segment of the paper industry to manufacture a wide variety of product packaging (folding cartons), beverage carriers, mailing tubes, industrial paperboard (cores, drums, tubes, and cans), and many other items. Kraft padded mailers, Kraft bags, and wrapping paper made from OCC also fall under the packaging category.
EPA's Recovered Materials Advisory Notice (RMAN) recommends that procuring agencies establish minimum content standards expressed as a percentage of recovered fiber, including a percentage of postconsumer fiber. For most grades, EPA recommends postconsumer fiber content. Postconsumer fiber does not include newsstand returns or printer's overruns.
| Product | Postconsumer Fiber (%) | Total Recovered Fiber (%) |
|---|---|---|
|
Corrugated containers: 1 - (<300 psi) - (300 psi) |
25-50 25-30 |
25-50 25-30 |
| Solid Fiber Boxes | 40 | 40 |
| Folding Cartons 2 | 40-80 | 100 |
| Industrial paperboard (e.g., tubes, cores, drums, and cans) | 45-100 | 100 |
| Miscellaneous (e.g., pad backs, covered binders, book covers, mailing tubes, protective packaging) | 75-100 | 90-100 |
| Padded mailers | 5-15 | 5-15 |
| Carrierboard 3 | 10-15 | 10-100 |
| Brown papers (e.g., wrapping paper and bags) | 5-20 | 5-40 |
1The recovered fiber and postconsumer fiber content is calculated from the content of each component relative to the weight each contributes to the total weight of the box.
2The recommended content ranges are not applicable to all types of paperboard used in folding cartons. Cartons made from solid bleached sulfate or solid unbleached sulfate contain no or small percentages of postconsumer fiber, depending on the paperboard source.
3Carrierboard made from unbleached kraft contains up to 25 percent recovered fiber, while carrierboard made from recycled paperboard contains up to 100 percent recovered fiber.
Miscellaneous Paper Products
Tray liners currently are the only product in the Miscellaneous Paper category. Sometimes referred to as "doilies" or "place mats," tray liners are specialty paper items designed to line food service trays in institutional and commercial restaurants and cafeterias in schools, hospitals, prisons and private facilities.
EPA's Recovered Materials Advisory Notice (RMAN) recommends that procuring agencies establish minimum content standards expressed as a percentage of recovered fiber, including a percentage of postconsumer fiber. For most grades, EPA recommends postconsumer fiber content. Postconsumer fiber does not include newsstand returns or printer's overruns.
| Product | Postconsumer Fiber (%) | Total Recovered Fiber (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Tray Liners | 50-75 | 100 |