ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries C&RL News ■ Sep tem b er 2001 / 825 C o l l e g e & R e s e a r c h L i b r a r i e s ensw “Greening” our college libraries Complete the cycle o f the three Rs by Kathleen Rickert Protecting th e enviro n m en t a n d c o n cern fo r th e scarce reso u rces o f th e Earth are m ore crucial to d ay th an ever, yet o u r society a p p ears to b e m oving in a n increasingly d a n ­ g ero u s direction. C om puters an d th e ag e of inform ation tech n o lo g y have p u t e x p a n d ed dem ands o n o u r n e e d fo r p aper, p rin te r car­ tridges, a n d c om puters. In this article, I w ish to advocate for a “g ree n e r” m indset, a n d for recycling, reu sin g w h e n possible, a n d red u c­ ing consum ption. In p rep aratio n fo r this article, I se n t a sur­ vey in spring 2000 to 115 acad em ic libraries in M innesota a n d W isconsin, inquiring ab o u t th eir recycling p ractices a n d th e u se o f r e ­ cycled p ro d u cts in th eir facilities. I received 75 replies, a retu rn rate o f ab o u t 65 percent. As I e x p ected , M innesotans recycle at a n e x­ ceptionally h igh rate. In 1996, th e latest y ear fo r w h ich com parative figures a re available, M innesota’s recycle rate w as 44 p ercent, the highest in th e nation. W isconsin’s recycle rate w as 28 percen t, w ith a stated goal o f 60 p e r­ ce n t by 2000.1 T h e p a p e r t r a i l R ather th an creating th e p red icted “p aperless society,” th e c o n su m p tio n o f p a p e r in the U nited States h as increased fourfold o v e r the past 20 y ears.2 Every day, m o re th an 2 billion b oo k s, 350 million m agazines, a n d 24 billion n ew spapers a re p u b lish e d in th e U nited States. T he aver­ ag e A m erican u ses 600 p o u n d s o f p a p e r each year, a n d p a p e r accounts fo r a third o f the w aste d isp o sed o f in landfills, ev en after re ­ cycling.3 T he b a d n ew s is th at p a p e r p ro d u ctio n is o n e o f th e m ost energy-intensive a n d p o llu t­ ing o f all m anufacturing industries, th e p ro ­ cess g eneratin g large am ounts o f solid w aste a n d air a n d w ater pollution.4 T h e g o o d n e w s is th at A m ericans are re­ cycling m o re th an ever. T he A m erican Forest a n d P a p e r Association estim ates th at th e U.S. p a p e r industry recovers fo r recycling 45 per­ c e n t o f all p a p e r A m ericans u se, u p from just 15 p e rcen t in 1988. T heir n e w goal fo r 2000 w as 60 p ercen t.5 O f th o se libraries th at r e sp o n d e d to my survey, 88 p e rc e n t recycled office p aper, and a n eq u al p e rcen tag e rep o rted th at they also recycled d iscarded new spapers. Recycling o u r w aste p a p e r is just o n e fig­ u re in th e recycling eq uation— using recycled p a p e r is another. Recycled p a p e r— once re ­ jected for bein g o f u n e v e n quality, grayish, o r sp o tte d — to d ay m eets th e h ighest techni­ cal sta n d a rd s, so m etim es e v e n e x c ee d in g com p arab le virgin p a p e r (o r p a p e r w ith n o d iscernible p o stco n su m er content). Yet ac­ cording to m y survey o f academ ic libraries, o nly ab o u t h a lf rep o rted u se o f p a p e r w ith recycled content. A b o u t t h e a u t h o r Kathleen Rickert is reference librarian at the College o f Saint Catherine in Saint Paul, Minnesota, e-mail: kdrickert@stkate.edu mailto:kdrickert@stkate.edu 826 / C&RL New s ■ Sep tem b er 2001 R e c y c le d p a p e r — o n c e r e je c te d f o r b e in g o f u n e v e n q u a lit y , g r a y is h , o r s p o t te d — t o d a y m e e ts t h e h ig h e s t t e c h n ic a l s ta n d a r d s , s o m e tim e s e v e n e x c e e d in g c o m p a r a b le v i r g i n p a p e r . . . In a cad em ic libraries, th e e x p a n d e d use o f th e In te rn et a n d th e W eb to p ro v id e aca­ dem ic reso u rces h a s h a d a tre m en d o u s im ­ p a c t o n p a p e r u s e a n d p rinting. W ith th e in ­ cre a se d availability o f jo u rn als o n lin e a n d in full tex t in th e latter p a rt o f th e p a st d e c ad e , n early all libraries r e p o r te d a n e x p lo sio n in p a p e r consum ption. N o lo n g er forced to stand a t a c o p y m ach in e w h ile it hun g rily g o b b led u p th eir c h a n g e, p a tro n s c a n n o w p rin t w h at th ey find, just in c ase th ey n e e d it, all for free. P r in t e r c a r tr id g e s Laser to n er cartridges a re easily recycled,6 a nd u sin g recy cled cartridges is a n econom ically a n d environm entally s o u n d choice. Recyclers will a c ce p t u s e d cartridges, o fte n p ro v id in g a b o x a n d p o sta g e -p aid s h ip p in g label. An a d fo r o n e s u c h cartrid g e recycler states th at car­ tridges a re teste d fo r stress a n d w e a r b e fo re a n d after th e re-m anufacturing process. T hose in g o o d rep a ir a re filled a n d resold, usually at a b o u t 30 p e rc e n t less th an a n e w cartridge. T h o se in p o o r c o n d itio n a re d ism an tled , u s­ a b le p arts rem o v e d , a n d th e plastic cru sh e d a n d m elted fo r u se in o th e r p ro d u cts. O f th e libraries r esp o n d in g to m y survey, 7 3 p e rc e n t recy cled all o r so m e o f th eir u s e d p rin te r car­ tridges, w h ile 51 p e rc e n t p u r c h a s e d recycled p rin te r cartridges. C o m p u te r s A lm ost 50 m illion co m p u te rs a re p u rch a se d in th e U n ited States e a ch y ear.7 Falling p rices m ak e c o m p u te rs c h e a p e r to r ep la c e th a n to rep air, w h ile t h e p o ten tial u se fo r o ld e r c o m ­ p u ters is s hrinking. F ew er p e o p le w a n t o ld er c o m p u te rs, a n d e v e n sc h o o ls a n d n o n p ro fits c a n n o w afford th e n e w e st m odels. T h e rap id m an u fa c tu re a n d c o n su m p tio n o f co m p u te rs is c a u se fo r en v iro n m en ta l c o n c e r n w h e n c o n s i d e r i n g t h e a m o u n t s o f e n e r g y , p h o to ch e m ic a ls, acids, h y d ro c a rb o n -b a s e d solvents, a n d o th e r reso u rces th at g o into p ro ­ du ctio n . O n e stu d y fo u n d th at t h e p ro ce ss o f m anufacturing o n e PC p ro d u ce d three p o u n d s o f w a ste fo r e v e ry p o u n d o f p ro d u ct.8 C o m p u ters a re a lso c re a tin g a significant w a ste-d isp o sa l p ro b le m in t h e U n ited States, w h e r e f o u r c o m p u te rs e n d u p in th e landfill fo r e v e ry o n e th at is rec y c led .9 A s tu d y at C arn eg ie M ellon U niversity c laim ed th a t 3 m illio n c o m p u t e r s w e n t in to lan d fills in 1997,10 w h ile t h e N ational Safety C ouncil p u t th e fig u re a t 20 m illio n in 1999. T h e y esti­ m ate th a t this fig u re w ill g r o w to 6 l m illion b y 2007.11 T h e e n v iro n m e n ta l c o n c e r n s reg a rd in g c o m p u te r recycling b e g in w ith plastics. T he N ational Safety C ouncil c o n sid ers plastic the m ost challenging m aterial to recycle from elec­ tro n ic e q u ip m e n t.12 B ecau se electro n ics of­ te n co n tain several ty p es o f plastic, recyclers o fte n d o n ’t c a re to so rt th ro u g h th em . Also, so m e plastics c o n ta in chem icals th at c a n b e tox ic w h e n e x p o s e d to th e h e a t o f th e recy­ cling p ro cess. A nd n e w p lastic is so in e x p e n ­ sive, th e r e is little incen tiv e fo r m an u factu r­ ers to risk c o n tam in atin g th eir p r o d u cts w ith low er, u n s o rte d grades. A se co n d enviro n m en tal c o n c ern w ith dis­ c a rd e d c o m p u te rs is t h e m onitor. T elevisions a n d c o m p u te r m o n ito rs c o n tain c a th o d e ray tu b e s (CRTs), w h ic h e a c h c o n ta in four-to- se v en p o u n d s o f lea d to p ro te c t th e u s e r from radioactivity. D isp o sin g o f it is th e biggest e x p e n se fo r a recycler. In M innesota, CRTs h a v e b e c o m e th e b ig g est s o u rc e o f lea d in th e sta te ’s w a ste stream , se c o n d only to car batteries.13 C o m p u ters a lso h a v e co n sid e rab le en v i­ ro n m e n tal im pact in term s o f th e e n erg y th at it tak es to r u n th e m in d ay-to-day u se. H ardly a college o r library fun ctio n s to d a y w ith o u t d e s k to p co m p u ters. O n e estim ate in t h e late 1990s r e p o r te d th at c o m p u te r u s e w o u ld ac ­ c o u n t fo r t e n p e rc e n t o f all e n erg y c o n su m p ­ tio n in th e y e a r 2000.14 T u rn in g o ff u n u s e d com puters w o u ld certainly red u ce p o w e r co n ­ sum ption. T a k in g s te p s f o r w a r d If y o u r library is n o t a lre a d y u sin g recycled p a p e r p ro d u cts, p lea se lo o k in to p u rch a sin g th em . H igh-quality p rin te r p a p e r, stationery, e n v e lo p e s, a n d n o te p a d s a re av ailable at C&RL New s ■ S e p tem b e r 2001 / 827 prices less th an o r c o m p arab le to th o se w ith little o r n o recycled co n ten t. If y o u are al­ read y using recycled p a p e r, c o n sid er using o n e w ith a hig h er p o stc o n su m er c ontent. T he federal g o v ern m en t req u ires th e u se o f n o t less th an 30 p ercent postco n su m er co n ­ tent in its offices, a n d m any states req u ires 20 p e r c e n t o r m o r e . 15 T h e h i g h e r t h e postconsum er content, th e higher th e percent­ age o f m aterials reco v ered by recycling an d the less virgin content. Look o n th e p a ck ag in g for th e in tern a­ tional sym bol for recycling (th e ring o f ar­ row s) a n d a statem en t o f p o stc o n su m er c o n ­ tent. T o locate a su p p lie r o f recycled p a p e r products, co n su lt y o u r institution’s p u rch a s­ ing d ep artm en t, o r u se any In te rn et search engine a n d ty p e th e p hrase, “recycled p a p e r.” Place recycling recep tacles in co n v en ien t and obvio u s places. Let y o u r stu d en ts k n o w th at “We R ecycle.” C o n sid er p u rch a sin g a duplexer, w h ich will allo w a laser p rin te r to print o n b o th sides. E ncourage stu d e n ts an d y o u r co-w orkers to u se p a p e r p rin te d o n o n e side for notetaking, scratchpaper, an d in d esk ­ to p printers. O n e resp o n d e n t to m y survey c o m m en ted th at h e r library d o n a te s p a p e r p rin ted o n just o n e side to a local nonprofit. Teach your students h o w they can save paper by printing smartly. By using the “marked records” fu n ctio n av ailable o n m an y d ata b a se s, they c a n a v o id p rin tin g o u t lo n g lists o f citations. By u sin g “p rin t p rev ie w ” w h e n p rin tin g from th e I n te rn et o r o th e r o n lin e d o c u m e n ts, th ey c a n p rin t just th e pages they need. M any o f m y colleag u es feel th at stu d en ts w o u ld th in k tw ice b e fo re hitting th e “p rin t” b u tto n if th ey h a d to p ay fo r ev ery s h e et of p a p e r th ey prin ted . O f th e co lleg e libraries resp o n d in g to m y survey, 23 p e rcen t said that th ey charged fo r printing, a n d indicated a cost ran g in g from 4 to 11 c en ts p e r pag e. A few n o te d th at this “m ay h a p p e n in th e fu tu re” a n d th at “w e a re cu rrently con sid erin g this.” O n e college allow s stu d en ts 500 free p ag es p e r y e a r a n d charges fo r prin tin g o v e r this a m ount. T h e tech n o lo g y exists to netw o rk prin ters to s tu d e n t a ccounts, an d w e m ay see m o re charging in th e future. At m y o w n college, I w a s to ld th at w e retu rn u se d t o n er cartridges fo r recycling, b u t th at w e d o n o t p u rch a se recycled p roducts. In a n effective recycling system , a c o n su m er w o u ld recycle item s th at c o u ld b e recycled, th en purchase goods m anufactured from these recycled p ro d u cts. Colleges c o u ld h e lp close More information on recycling • American Forest & Paper A ssocia­ tion: Publications a n d inform ation from the natio n al trad e association o f th e forest, p a ­ per, a n d w o o d p u lp industry. h ttp ://w w w . afandpa.org • Recycled Paper Coalition: O rgani­ za tio n o f m o re th a n 260 b u sin e sse s a n d nonprofits attempting to address environm en­ tal problems. Site includes m any publications, including the excellent Recycled Paper Factbook in p d f format, an d a n extensive listing o f links to organizations, businesses, and government sites, http://www.papercoalition.org / • Buy R ecycled B u sin ess Alliance: Businesses a n d nonprofits com m itted to in­ creasing the u se o f recycled-content p ro d ­ ucts. h ttp://brba.nrc-recycle.org/ • Conservatree: Information o n n e w tech­ nologies, advocacy, a n d legislative issues. h ttp ://w w w .co n serv atree.co m • E n v ir o n m e n t a l S y s te m s o f America: Inform ation o n g ree n sh o p p in g , recycling resources, recycling m yths, FAQs, a n d lin k s to o th e r o rg an izatio n s, h t tp : // w w w .envirosystem sinc.com • Grass R oots R ecyclin g Network: F o u n d e d in 1996 by leaders o f th e Sierra Club, this n e tw o rk o f com m u n ity -b ased ac­ tivists, ad v o catin g environm entally s o u n d policies a n d p ractices w ith reg a rd to w aste. http ://w w w .g rrn .o rg . • GreenBiz.com: Inclu d es articles a n d in fo rm a tio n o n c o n s u m e r a ttitu d e s to w a rd g r e e n issu e s, w a s te - s a v in g str a te g ie s, r e ­ c y c le d a n d e n v ir o n m e n t a ll y p r e f e r r e d p r o d u c t s , a n d m o r e . h t t p : / / w w w . g re e n b iz .c o m • Lasertone International: Information o n r e c y c l e d p r i n t e r c a r t r i d g e s . h t t p : / / w w w .laser-tone.com http://www http://www.papercoalition.oig/ http://brba.nrc-recycle.org/ http://www.conservatree.com http://www.envirosystemsinc.com http://www.grrn.org http://www http://www.laser-tone.com 828 / C&RL News ■ Septem ber 2001 W h e n b e t te r c o m p u te r s a re b u il t, t h e y w i l l b e k e p t o u t o f t h e w a s te s tre a m lo n g e r. C o n s u m e rs s h o u ld b e d e m a n d in g t h a t c o m p a n ie s d o j u s t t h a t . the recycling loop b y purchasing recycled car­ tridges. Com puters a re th e m ost difficult to tackle. If I c an go longer w ithout a n upgrade, I kn o w I will consum e less. How ever, slow er, older m odels m ake it im possible for m e to ru n the p rogram s I n e e d to d o m y job in th e technol­ ogy-driven field o f librarianship. Harmful as c o m p u ter m anufacturing and recycling c an b e, I am hop efu l ab o u t th e fu­ tu re o f th e industry. Jap an , th e N etherlands, a n d o th er north ern E u ropean countries are p assing “take-back” legislation that requires com panies to take b ack an d recycle products as they are discarded.16 “G reen” c om puter de­ sign technology exists to red u ce resources c o n su m ed an d w asted, to m ake the m an u ­ facturing process cleaner, to m inim ize the energ y co m p u ters c o n su m e, an d to m ake com ponents recyclable. W hen b etter com put­ ers are built, they will b e k ep t ou t o f the w aste stream longer. Consum ers should b e dem and­ ing th at c o m panies d o just that. Conservation a n d environm entalism is n o t alw ays clear-cut w h en information is the com ­ m odity, as it is in libraries. T he tools o f o u r trade d e m an d that w e u se p aper, toner, com ­ puters, an d electricity. I urge those in m y p ro ­ fession to consider the ideas I have p resented a n d to d o w h a t th ey can. C o m p lete th e cycle— reduce, reuse, an d recycle. R e fe re n ce s 1. D e b o r a h S tro n g , Recycling in America: A Reference Handbook, 2nd e d . ( S a n ta B a rb a ra , CA: ABC-CLIO, 1997). 2 . A m e ric a n F o r e s t a n d P a p e r A s so c ia tio n , “U.S. p a p e r re c y c lin g : a n e n v ir o n m e n ta l s u c c e s s ,” r e ­ t r i e v e d J u n e 2, 2 0 0 0 , f r o m t h e W e b a t h t t p : / / w w w .a f a n d p a .o r g . 3 . S tro n g , Recycling in America: A Reference Handbook. 4. E n v iro n m e n ta l D e f e n s e F u n d R e p o r ts 2000. “M a k e t h a t r e c y c le d c o a t e d fr e e s h e e t p a p e r ,” r e ­ t r i e v e d J u n e 2 , 2 0 0 0 , f r o m t h e W e b a t h t t p : / / w w w .en v iro n m en tald efen se.o rg /p u b s /R e p o rts . 5 . A m e ric a n F o r e s t a n d P a p e r A s so c ia tio n . 6. S. B ass 1996. “C a s h f o r tra sh : t u r n y o u r p rin te r c a r tr id g e s i n t o c a s h ,” PC World, 14:314+. R e trie v e d A p ril 2 9, 2000, f ro m I n fo T ra c d a ta b a s e ( E x p a n d e d A c a d e m ic ASAP) o n th e W e b a t h t t p : / / i n f o t r a c . g a le g ro u p .c o m /itw e b /c lic _ s tk a te . 7. N a tio n a l P u b lic R a d io (N PR ) “All T h in g s C o n ­ s id e r e d ,” O c to b e r 3 0 , 19 9 9 ( tra n s c rip t). R e trie v e d N o v . 1, 1999, f r o m t h e L ex is-N ex is d a ta b a s e (A ca­ d e m ic U n iv e rs e ) o n th e W eb a t h ttp ://w w w .le x is - n e x is .c o m /u n iv e r s e . 8. L e e G o ld b e rg , “T h e a d v e n t o f ‘g r e e n ’ c o m ­ p u t e r d e s ig n ,” Computer (1 998): 3 1 :1 6 -1 9 . 9 . E n v iro n m e n ta l S y ste m s o f A m erica. 10. M ark F earer, “T u rn g a r b a g e in to g o ld ,” Com­ puter Life (1 998): 5:42+ . R e trie v e d N o v . 1, 1999, f ro m InfoT rac d a ta b a s e (E x p a n d e d A c a d e m ic ASAP) o n t h e W eb a t h ttp ://in f o tr a c .g a le g r o u p .c o m /itw e b / c lic _ stk a te . 11. S u s a n S c h m ic k le , “A fte rs h o c k o f th e te c h ­ n o l o g y b o o m , ” Star-Tribune (Minneapolis). R e­ t r i e v e d N o v . 1, 1 9 9 9 , f r o m t h e W e b a t h t t p : / / w w w .s ta r tr ib u n e .c o m . 12. Ib id . 13. Ibid. 14. L e e G o ld b e r g , “T h e a d v e n t o f ‘g r e e n ’ c o m ­ p u t e r d e s ig n .” 15. C o n s e rv a tre e . 2000. “E n v iro n m e n ta lly s o u n d p a p e r o v e rv ie w : E s s e n tia l i s s u e s .” R e trie v e d J u n e 2 , 2 0 0 0 f r o m t h e W e b : h t t p : / / w w w . c o n s e r v a t r e e . c o m / l e a r n / E s s e n t i a l _ I s s u e s /. 16. N a tio n a l P u b lic R a d io (N P R ), 199 9 . ■ ( “ACRL 2002 Awards Program" cont. from page 823) • K. G. Saur Award for Best Article in College & R esearch L ibraries (sponsored by R. R. Bowker/K. G. Saur): $500 cash aw ard for the m ost o utstanding article p ublished in C&RL d uring the p receding volum e year. • Instruction Section Publication o f the Year Award. Recognizes a n outstanding p u b ­ lication related to instruction in a library e n ­ vironm ent p u b lish ed in th e last tw o years. C o n ta c t ACRL f o r d e ta ils If y o u w o u ld like m ore inform ation ab o u t the ACRL 2002 Awards Program , visit o u r W eb p ag e at http://w w w .ala.org/acrl.aw ard2.htm l o r contact ACRL Program Assistant Stephanie Sherrod, at (800) 545-2433 ext.2515, e-mail: ssherrod@ ala.org. We w elcom e y o u r nom inations an d look forw ard to celebrating achievem ents in aca­ dem ic librarianship in 2002. ■ http://www.afandpa.org http://www.environmentaldefense.oig/pubs/Reports http://infotrac http://www.lexis- http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/ http://www.startribune.com http://www.conservatree.com/learn/Essential_ http://www.ala.org/acrl.award2.html mailto:ssherrod@ala.org C&RL News ■ Sep tem b er 2001 / 829