spacer.gif
spacer.gifSustainable Environmental Stewardship
Waste Prevention and Recycling Green Purchasing Electronics Stewardship
Environmental Management Systems Sustainable Buildings Industrial Ecology
  
Office of the Federal Environmental Executive        Go back to last page  Go Home

What's New
About OFEE
Executive Orders
CTC Winners
Publications
Related Links
Search
Sitemap

Your Government
Text Only
Privacy Policy
Accessibility

Green Purchasing

The Paper Calculator
When a recycled content product costs more than a comparable virgin content product, purchasers can look at the product's costs and benefits over its life cycle. This approach allows purchasers to determine what is the "best value" to purchase. The Task Force joined with the U.S. Postal Service, EPA, and Environmental Defense to create the Paper Calculator"® , a web-based tool to calculate the U.S. average energy and wood consumption and environmental releases across the full "life cycle" of each of five major grades of paper and paperboard. It compares production of virgin paper/paperboard in each grade, and its subsequent disposal in landfills and incinerators, to production of recycled paper/paperboard in the same grade, and its subsequent recovery for recycling.