INSIDE DOUGLAS COLLEGE / February 4, 1992

WOW — A Recycling Program Within Arm’s Reach

What ls WOW?

Douglas College has imple-
mented a voluntary wastepaper
recycling program called WOW,
which stands for “We-cycle Office
Wastepaper.” Collection units are
available from the loading bay in
shipping and receiving. Please
help yourself! Simply place collec-
tion units within arm’s reach and
sort office wastepaper into your
units, instead of the wastepaper
basket. Note that not all types of
office wastepaper are recyclable
under the WOW program— read
on to find out more!

Why Recycle Office
Waste?

Almost half of municipal solid
waste is paper. Dump and landfill
space is becoming scarce and ex-
pensive. The need to recycle as
much of this waste as possible is
obvious. When it’s done correctly,
it saves money as well as landfill
space.

Office wastepaper should be

recycled because:

© Solid waste disposal costs can be
greatly reduced.

® Recycling has a positive environ-
mental impact.

© Recycling produces added income
for your college.

What Has To Be Done?

Recycling must be as easy and
as convenient as possible to ensure
maximum participation. WOW,
We-cycle Office Wastepaper, a
patented collection program
designed for an office environ-
ment, requires minimum effort.

Sorting for high-grade was-
tepaper at the source is the key to
the program’s success. Proper
planning, as detailed in this
manual, will make the job easy for
everyone.

Sorting

Most paper mills cannot use
mixed or contaminated materials.
That’s why the WOW program is
designed to gather only high-
grade office waste, which ac-
counts for 80% of all office
wastepaper.

Sorting is a simple task. Each
employee uses a special “Desk Top
Collection Unit” or WOW collec-
tion boxes where high-grade
paper is placed each day. Collec-
tion boxes should be placed next
to copy machines and other key

 

locations in a fieldbase or office
area. Use three boxes to collect one
of each paper type-white ledger,
coloured ledger, and computer
(continuous) paper. Place full
boxes in your field base or in the
hall outside your office for
weekend pick up and dumping.
Your emptied boxes will be left for
you to fill again.

Acceptable
Wastepaper

White Ledger
Copy machine paper

Letterhead on white stock
White tablet paper

Laser print paper

Typing paper

Miscellaneous white paper (with
staples)

Coloured Ledger

® All non-glossy, non-newsprint
types of paper
® NCR acceptable

Computer paper

© Continuous paper

* Please do not crumple paper

Unacceptable
Wastepaper

post-it notes

carbon paper

magazines

newsprint

telephone books
groundwood computer paper
chemically treated paper,

ie. blue print

paper ream wrappers
cardboard

envelopes

coated glossy/slick/waxed paper
rubber bands/paper clips
food wrapping/paper towels

© @ @060 @ G6

Did You Know?

1. Wastepaper is the largest export
product, by volume, in the
United States.

2. Nearly 50% of all solid waste in
the country is paper.

3. 60% less energy is used to make
paper when recyclable
wastepaper is used. One ton of
recyclable paper saves 2 1/2
barrels of oil.

4. Using secondary fiber
(wastepaper) to manufacture
new paper produces less air
and water pollutants, consumes
50% less water and saves
approximately 17 trees per ton
of paper manufactured.

5. Each ton of wastepaper
recycled saves over 3 cubic
yards of landfill space.
continued on page 8