Paper and paper products have been manufactured using recycled fibers since the invention of paper, but in the last century plentiful forest products have fostered a paper industry whose primary feedstock has been "virgin" wood pulp. Resource-depletion and other issues have diminished the supply of forest products and increased the cost of virgin pulp in recent years. The paper industry has responded by developing the capacity to use recycled fiber for pulp, and paper manufactured with recycled fiber is playing an increasingly important role in the paper industry.
Federal, state, and local governments, recognizing that citizens benefit from strong recycled paper industries, have provided impetus for the manufacture of recycled paper through government purchasing and other market-development efforts. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maintains standards and terminology for recycled paper and other recycled products. The 1998 Federal Executive Order (13101) requires the purchase of copy paper with 30% post consumer recycled content by Federal agencies.
Recycled paper can be manufactured to the same quality standards as paper from virgin pulp. This has not always been true. Recycled paper manufacturing technologies were formerly employed principally as stop-gap measures in times of fiber shortage. Recycled fiber was simply substituted for virgin fiber without re-engineering the manufacturing processes and some of the papers manufactured under these 'emergency' conditions did not perform as well as the virgin paper. Under these conditions, demand for recycled paper did not justify the expense of converting high-quality, high-capacity paper machines to use recycled pulp, but the market has evolved. Many manufacturers are now producing high-quality, economical recycled paper and more plan to do so.
The paper marketplace has always offered buyers thousands of choices among virgin papers in different cost and quality ranges and now it offers a similar range of products in recycled papers. The ambiguities created by rapidly changing technologies, highly volatile paper and recycled-material markets, and competing market interests have resulted in a bewildering array of options and concerns for purchasers.
There are no simple rules-of-thumb to allow buyers to select paper products that will satisfy their individual needs. Buyers must either create specifications to quantify specific requirements or, more often, simply go into the marketplace and learn which products perform adequately in their unique circumstances. Fortunately, paper distributors maintain knowledgeable customer-service staffs and are able to provide good information about their products.
King County purchases most printing and office supply paper through centrally administered term-supply contracts, which enable agencies to purchase hundreds of paper products at low and consistent prices. Recycled paper is specified whenever practicable.
King County agencies purchased recycled paper goods valued at over three million dollars in 2006. These purchases fall into three general categories:
Copy and Bond Paper
County agencies purchase recycled processed chlorine-free (PCF) copy paper with 30% postconsumer content. The post-consumer content level meets the Federal Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines (CPG) established by Federal Executive Order 13101. County purchases of recycled paper totaled almost 20,000 cases at a cost of $570,000 in the last year, which represents 99% of total copy paper purchases.
Printing Paper
Printing performed by the county Printshop and through contracts administered by Procurement and Contract Services Section for various King County agencies is required to use recycled paper whenever practicable, which is over 90% of the time. This includes all printing, from business cards to tax and court forms, reports and bus timetables. The recycled content of this paper varies from 20% to 100%. During 2006, estimated recycled paper expenditures, exclusive of printing costs, totaled 1.75 million dollars.
Paper Products
In addition to recycled copy and printing papers, the county also maintains several contracts that allow agencies to purchase various recycled paper products. These include office supplies, such as envelopes, boxes, folders and notepads; and janitorial products, such as paper towels and tissues. The recycled content of this paper varies from 10% to 100% depending on the manufacturer and product type. Recycled content purchases totaled $465,000 in 2006.
Bid and Contract Specifications
This section contains contract provisions from King County's contract for recycled copy paper
Recycled Copy Paper-Cut Stock:
A. The paper brand names listed indicate the minimum acceptable standard of quality required by King County. Brands of equal quality and performance may be considered. To be considered as an approved equal, the bidder shall specify the brand name and provide the technical specifications for that brand. King County will be the sole judge for approving other brands as approved equals to those brands listed.
B. The County reserves the right to reject or accept alternates to these specifications in accordance with King County’s best interest.
C. The County will be the sole judge of the bidder’s’ ability to supply the recycled copy paper-cut stock required.
D. The recycled copy paper-cut stock bid shall function properly work in all County Copiers, Fax Machines, Laser Printers and Ink Jet printers without jamming.
MINIMUM Paper specifications for all Schedules
A. Case Size
8-1/2” X 11” & 8-1/2” X 14” size paper is ......... 5000 sheets.
11 X 17” size paper is ...................................... 2500 sheets.
B. Colored stock includes: Blue, Buff, Canary, Cherry, Goldenrod, Gray, Green, Ivory, Lilac, Pink, Tan, Peach, Cream, and Salmon or like colors.
C. Approved brands: Eureka, Weyerhaeuser, and Husky Xerocopy d.p. or approved equal
SCHEDULES 1 THRU 6
Schedule 1 8-1/2” X 11” WHITE
Schedule 2 8-1/2” X 11” COLOR
Schedule 3 8-1/2” X 14” WHITE
Schedule 4 8-1/2” X 14” COLOR
Schedule 5 11” X 17” WHITE
Schedule 6 8-1/2” X 11” 3 HOLE –PUNCHED-WHITE
Substance Weight:............................... 20#
Brightness:............................................ 92 or greater
Opacity:................................................. 88 or greater
Moisture Content:.................................. 4.5%
Smoothness, Sheffield Units:............... 140
Post-consumer Recycled Fiber:.......... 30% or greater
Bidders shall state specifications of paper offered:
Brand of Paper Offered:....................... _______________
Substance Weight:............................... _______________
Brightness:............................................ _______________
Opacity:................................................. _______________
Moisture Content:.................................. ______________%
Smoothness, Sheffield Units:............... _______________
Post consumer Recycled Fiber:........... ______________%
Colors Offered...................................... __________________________________________
Attach additional sheets as required.
SCHEDULE 7
Schedule 7 8-1/2” x 11” Processed Chlorine Free (PCF) , 100% Post Consumer Content, Recycled
Shall be Processed Chlorine Free (PCF)
Processed chlorine free refers to paper in which the recycled content is unbleached without chlorine or chlorine derivates. Any virgin material portion of the paper must be totally chlorine free (virgin paper that is unbleached or processed with a sequence that includes no chlorine or chlorine derivatives).
Substance Weight:............................... 20#
Brightness:............................................ 84 or greater
Opacity:................................................. 87 or greater
Post-consumer Recycled Fiber:.......... 100%
Bidders shall state specifications of paper offered:
Brand of Paper Offered:....................... _______________
Substance Weight:............................... _______________
Brightness:............................................ _______________
Opacity:................................................. _______________
Post consumer Recycled Fiber:........... ______________%
- King County's current paper supplier is:
- West Coast Paper
- Kent, Washington
- 1-800-451-2737
- Copy of the contract pricing
E-mail
Return to
Environmental Purchasing Menu
Updated: September, 2006
King County
| News | Services | Comments | SearchLinks to external sites do not constitute
endorsements by King County.
By visiting this and other King County web pages,
you expressly agree to be bound by terms and conditions of the site.
The details.