| Today a new green
office scheme - local paper for london – was launched by London-based
environmental organisation, BioRegional Development Group. Ken Livingstone
MP (photo enclosed) endorsed the scheme:
“I’d like to see London as the world’s first sustainable
city. If you work in an office in the London area you can do your
bit where paper’s concerned and join BioRegional’s local
paper for london scheme.”
Ken Livingstone is pictured holding
the six foot BioRegional Boomerang, to signify the fact that offices
who sign up to local paper for london send white paper for recycling
to a local recycling mill, and then buy it back as top quality finished
paper - 100% local recycled – creating a sustainable local
paper cycle.
Direct Line Insurance is the first
organisation to sign up to local paper for london, and it expects
to save 57% on its annual office paper bill and waste charges –
saving money as well as paper and trees. This is partly due to BioRegional’s
expert tips on cutting the amount of paper used by an office –
essential as paper consumption in the UK has doubled in the last
15 years, despite increasing awareness of disappearing forest habitat
worldwide.
BioRegional aim to sign up 250
organisations to the scheme in the first year, and any London office,
organisation or school can join – by calling 020 8404 4884
or email to localpaper@bioregional.com.
local paper for london is funded by EB Nationwide Ltd with donations
from Shanks under the landfill tax credit scheme, due to its role
in reducing waste to landfill; and by WWF International (WorldWide
Fund for Nature), who are concerned about worldwide forest losses.
The scheme is motivated by:
¨ the shocking fact that only 17% of high quality printing and
writing paper used in the UK each year gets recycled. The remainder
is dumped in landfill sites or burned.
¨ Worse still, only 7% of this valuable resource is recycled
back into new paper of similar high quality. The rest is downgraded
to packaging and disposable products.
¨ Despite the environmental impact of paper production and the
loss of forest habitat around the World, paper consumption continues
to increase. UK consumption of this type of paper has doubled in
the last fifteen years.
These are issues that your work-place
can do something about.
The scheme was devised by BioRegional
Development Group, whose sustainability projects promote the use
of local resources and local production for local needs. Buying
and using local recycled paper
· helps stop forest destruction overseas
· drastically reduces transport and therefore pollution
· cuts down on waste going to landfill
· creates local jobs in the London region – 2500 at
the recycled paper mill alone
· an all round Win-Win situation!
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