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Recycled paper junk mail requirement

Require all junk mail to be printed on 100& post-consumer recycled paper
  (+2, -1)
(+2, -1)
  [vote for,
against]

If an advertiser wants to send out a junk-mail advertising piece, they shouldn't get the big bulk-mail discount unless they certify that only 100% post-consumer recycled paper has been used. This should do two things: create a bigger market for recycled paper, and reduce the amount of junk mail.
smendler, Apr 27 2013

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       A lot of the junk mail I get already proudly claims to be made from 70-100% recycled paper--as if that makes it any better. Recycled paper is harder to recycle again, and much of the pulp is lost the second time around. We can't just keep making paper out of paper forever, but apparently we can make it all okay by sending out a gazillion tons of waste telling everyone that it's okay.   

       [+], and I suggest adding a tax to all unsolicited 3rd-class bulk mail.
Alterother, Apr 27 2013
  

       Paper should be made of recycled plastic.
rcarty, Apr 27 2013
  

       And plastic should be made of recycled dinosaurs.
Alterother, Apr 27 2013
  

       Therefore the paper is dinosaurs?
rcarty, Apr 27 2013
  

       Paper dinosaurs are the only kind of dinosaur I've ever seen.
Alterother, Apr 27 2013
  

       Paper recycling is very nearly as bad for the environment as fresh pulp paper. The chemicals they use are horrible.

If the company is managing and regrowing the trees paper recycling is worse than fresh pulp.
Voice, Apr 27 2013
  

       How about they recycle it, instead of sending it. Save a fortune on postage.
not_morrison_rm, Apr 27 2013
  

       When paper is recycled, a proportion of the wood fibres split lengthwise, making them too thin and fragile to be reused. These split fibres are known as "floss".   

       A little-known fact of the paper recycling business is that the floss is removed by passing the pulp over large screens covered in cat fur. The floss becomes trapped and entangled in the fur, while the undamaged fibres (called stilts, though goodness knows why) pass over the fur. One square foot of cat pelt is enough to remove the floss from about 20,000 litres of pulp (the pelt is periodically cleaned using a solution of tin chloride, which drives the floss away from the fur). But 20,000 litres is not a lot; mills making recycled paper therefore get through a lot of cat pelts, most of which are imported from the middle East.
MaxwellBuchanan, Apr 27 2013
  

       until they get fleeced (no pun intended) by getting a shipment of Peterbald catskins..
not_morrison_rm, Apr 29 2013
  

       [Voice] Can you cite a source for the claim that recycling is worse than virgin timber paper production? The numbers I've seen, once you do a full life-cycle analysis (including energy for tree management), seem to indicate that recycling is still preferred, although, as several people have pointed out, there is a severe limit on the number of times paper fibers can be recycled.   

       In practice, any paper plant uses large amounts of harsh chemicals for it's production. You'll probably do more over-all good by buying unbleached paper products than debating about recycling or not.
MechE, Apr 29 2013
  

       If recycled paper uses less energy overall, it should be cheaper. I suspect there might be price-gouging going on. (Much as products made from organic wheat are typically a dollar or so more expensive per kg, even though the farm-gate price of organic wheat is only 10-20 cents dollars more.)   

       It might be better to require that the mail only be sent to those who have actively consented to receive it - for example, by clearly displaying a sign reading 'unsolicited mail welcome' on the letterbox.
spidermother, Apr 29 2013
  
      
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