Is Recycling Working? The Proof is Right In Your Hands! Growing use of recycled newsprint benefits Ohio's environment and economy By Donald C. Anderson, Director Ohio Department of Natural Resources

Is recycling working in Ohio today? Absolutely! In fact, the proof is right here in your hands.

The newspaper you're reading — like nearly all major daily and weekly papers in Ohio — is printed on stock containing an increasingly high percentage of recycled paper. And, if you are like a growing number of Ohioans, your newspaper is more likely than ever to go into a recycling bin instead of a landfill. As a result, newspapers have become one of Ohio's most important — and most visible — recycled-content products. That's good news, indeed, for our environment and for our economy?

In 1992, Governor George Voinovich and the Ohio Newspaper Association (ONA) created a Newsprint Recycling Task Force to develop ways to recycle and reuse discarded newspapers in our state. Ohio publishers voluntarily committed to increase their use of recycled newsprint as well as the percentage of recycled fiber used in its production.

Thanks to this landmark commitment, the vast majority of Ohio newspapers are using more and more recycled newsprint. In 1996 (the most recent statewide statistics available), recycled stock accounted for 99 percent of all newsprint purchased by ONA members. That figure exceeds goals set by Ohio's Newsprint Recycling Task Force in 1992 and is well ahead of the national recycling average.

To help make recycled-content newsprint available in reasonable quantities, at a reasonable price, Ohio is also well ahead in efforts to recycle old newspapers instead of trashing them. Today, nearly two-thirds of Ohio's discarded newspapers are finding their way into recycling bins rather than landfills. That's double the rate of 30 percent that were being recycled just ten years ago.

In fact, Ohioans are now recycling more than a million tons of newspaper, office paper, cardboard and mixed paper in their homes and offices each year. More and more Ohio communities make recycling available at the curbside or at drop-off locations, and record numbers of Ohioans are making use of these convenient services. As a result, 30 paper and pulp mills in Ohio receive the raw material they need to help manufacture a wide range of new, recycled-content paper products, including newsprint.

Thanks to this dual commitment — by Ohio's newspaper industry and by Ohio newspaper consumers — newsprint is one of a number of products that are fast becoming Ohio's most economically and environmentally important raw materials.

Discarded newspapers, office paper and other materials we once thought of as trash — including discarded products made of steel, glass, aluminum, rubber and plastic — have in fact become Ohio's newest natural resources. Major corporations and small, entrepreneurial manufacturers across the state are finding innovative, beneficial ways to utilize these resources.

For example, in Summit County discarded plastics are transformed into picnic tables and park benches. Scrap tires are used to make sneaker soles in Medina County. Ohio is home to the world's two largest aluminum recycling operations, where more than 15 million pounds of discarded aluminum are processed each month for use in new products.

Ohio's steel industry, ranked second in the nation by production, is recycling more than 10 million tons of steel each year. And manufacturers of glass-related products depend upon the state's eight glass recyclers who produce clean, ready-to-use crushed glass.

State government is also doing its part to carry out a four-part recycling strategy: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Buy Recycled. Governor Voinovich has ordered state government agencies to provide leadership by example, setting the recycling pace for all Ohioans. That includes purchasing recycled-content office products and other materials whenever possible. More than 36,000 state employees who participate in our Recycle, Ohio! program are collecting 7.1 million pounds of recycled materials in the workplace last year.

In addition, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, through its Division of Recycling & Litter Prevention, distributes more than $7,000,000 in grants each year to local communities for neighborhood recycling and litter prevention programs — grants funded by a corporate franchise tax.

There is no doubt that recycling is working in Ohio, contributing to our economy and aiding our environment. As our newest natural resources, recycled materials are providing business opportunities and creating new jobs. At the same time, they are helping conserve other, more limited resources, save energy and protect our environment.

Yes, it may be true that "nothing's as old as yesterday's news." But yesterday's newspaper receives fresh life each day as it is recycled and remanufactured for use in printing tomorrow's news. Our continued success in creating new and valuable natural resources through recycling ultimately depends on each of us. We can do that by making waste reduction and recycling part of our everyday lives, while taking every opportunity to purchase products made from recycled materials.