Recycled Paper

Frequently Asked Questions

Why purchase recycled paper?Producing one tonne of recycled paper saves:
• 31,780 litres of water
• 4100 kilowatt hours of electricity
• 75% of chlorinated bleach
• 27 kilograms of air pollutants
• 13 - 24 trees
• 4 cubic metres of landfill
• 2.5 barrels of oil

How do I go about purchasing recycled content paper at UWA?
The University's preferred supplier for all copy paper is Fuji Xerox. All recycled paper purchases are to be made through Fuji Xerox. See Financial Services for details of how to easily make your paper purchases online.

Can I get my publications and promotional material printed on recycled paper?
Most definitely. Just ask the University's design, printing and copying service supplier UniPrint. You could also consider adding a small footer stating 'Printed on XXX% recycled paper'.

Will recycled paper cost more money?Recycled content paper will cost only slightly more than virgin fibre paper. However, simple paper reduction strategies can be implemented to reduce your office paper consumption which will offset any increased cost.

Won’t recycled paper increase the amount of paper jams in our printers?
No! Fuji Xerox recycled paper are of a high quality, jam free and meet all the specifications for a high quality office paper. If you are experiencing frequent paper jams it is likely that the equipment needs servicing.

What material is used to make recycled paper?
The pulp used in Fuji Xerox Green Wrap paper is made from 60% Australian recycled waste e.g. milk cartons, printers offcuts, office computer paper and 40% sustainably managed plantation fibre.

Fuji Xerox Recycled Supreme is manufactured from 100% post consumer waste collected from office waste.

Doesn't making recycled paper consume more energy and contribute more greenhouse emissions in the process?
Producing paper from recovered fibre consumes 50% less energy than manufacturing paper from virgin pulp. The process also consumes 90% less water.

Isn't recycled paper less white and bright than non-recycled paper?
Paper whiteness is an aesthetic consideration and not an indicator of performance. CIE whiteness of Green Wrap is 140 (only a fraction less than the non-recycled paper). Recycled Supreme is bleached in a totally chlorine free process to achieve a very white recycled paper.

Paper Facts

FACT: Since European settlement almost half of Australia's forests have been cleared.
FACT: An area the size of the Australian Capital Territory is logged every year in Australia. Over half of this wood is wood-chipped for paper pulp.
FACT: It takes 24 trees to create one tonne of virgin office paper (that is paper with no recycled content).
FACT: Australians use approx. 3.5 million tonnes of paper and cardboard annually - enough to fill 160,000 large semi trailers.
FACT: 75% of a tree harvested for paper does not wind up as a paper product.
FACT: The pulp and paper industry is the world's fifth largest industrial consumer of energy and uses more water to produce a tonne of product than any other industry.
FACT: Manufacturing recycled paper can use up to 90% less water and 50% less energy than making it from trees.
FACT: For every 100 reams of recycled office paper that is printed double sided this will save 2 trees, more than 1 tonne of greenhouse gases and almost a cubic metre of landfill space compared to 100 reams of paper that is not recycled or printed double sided.
FACT: A single-sided, double spaced document uses four times as much paper as a double sided, single spaced document.