Before 1900 most paper in North America and Europe was made from cotton rags.

The hemp plant was also used extensively in the United States until the 1930s, and today the Australians and French are bringing it back into cultivation for paper.

Flax also makes a fine paper, while Japanese artisans even today make the world's strongest paper from the leaves of mulberry bushes.

The ancient Egyptians manufactured paper from papyrus, a member of the sedge family.

The Bible is actually named after the Greek bi'blos for the pithy centre of the papyrus plant.

Bleaching introduces harsh chemicals into the environment, and chlorine-based chemicals are the hardest to control or re-use. For inter-office memos, duplicate files and drafts, scrap paper is adequate. For external use, unbleached or oxygen-bleached papers are acceptable. Extra white glossy paper is sometimes necessary for fine art reproduction, and photographic prints. Highly processed paper is hardest on the environment.

Most of the paper we use in North America turns yellow and brittle within thirty years. It's a librarian's nightmare! The reason? Acid residues from wood pulp, bleaching, or the fillers in the paper. Acid-free or alkaline papers made with fillers such as calcium carbonate can last for two or three hundred years. They use less water, less fibre, and less bleach in the manufacture. Acid-free paper lasts longer and it's better for the environment.

Paper manufacturers use the clean waste and unsold publications to make new paper. That is why recycled paper usually specifies the percentage of "post-consumer" content. These days, industry executives estimate that eventually at least 40% of our paper needs will be met from recycling the "urban forest" of used paper.

The sludge from recycling paper creates disposal problems. It takes eighty tons of waste paper to make sixty tons of recycled paper. Paper fibres can be recycled four to seven times before the fibres become too short and wash away in the sludge. Sludge can be toxic because of ink and other additives. One benefit of unbleached paper is that it does not add organochlorine compounds to the sludge.

Bindings: Paper clips are easy to remove. Large metal or plastic bindings require extra work.
Colours: Deep reds, purples and blues are hard to de-ink.
Special Effects: Plastic windows, self-adhesive labels, hot melts, rubber-based and synthetic glues for binding, thermoset laminates, and UV varnishes contaminate paper stock for recycling and make the sludge more toxic.
Ink: A hidden environmental hazard. Petrochemical oil-based inks and metallic inks cause problems. Water-based and vegetable-based inks are the best choices, for recycling, for the atmosphere, and for your printer's health.

• Use both sides of a piece of paper
• Choose the right paper for the job
• Use telecommunications and computer media whenever possible
• Take your name off direct mail lists
• Choose non-toxic inks and print methods that are easy to recycle
• Recycle your used paper and buy recycled unbleached paper.

We are using more and more paper in the world every year, and this growth is not sustainable. We have to do more with less.

• Reduce a legal size sheet to an 8 1/2 x 11" sheet when you photocopy it.
• Circulate reports around the office in a mailing envelope -- as each person reads it, they send it on to the next on the list.
• Make smaller notices, forms and letters -- print two on each sheet of paper and cut it in half.
• Use scrap paper -- for photocopying office memos, for scratch pads and telephone messages, for doodling. Use old envelopes for notes around the house.
• Use electronic mail. It's fast, cheap, and paper-free!
• Put lists, reference works and reports on computer diskette. Don't make hard paper copies.
• Remove yourself from direct mail. The Canadian Direct Marketing Association has an internet site with a Do Not Contact Service where you can get listed on its "Do Not Mail/Do Not Call" service. It will take about three months to get delisted.

If you buy or lease a photocopier, be sure to get one that:

• Copies back-to-back so you can use 100% of your paper instead of only 50%
• Works with recycled paper.
• Has an auto-reduce button to shrink legal size paper down to office size.