PSI Fall Conference: Confronting Climate Change

Paper recyclers are in the position to play an important role in the fight against climate change, according to David Refkin, director of sustainable development for Time Inc., who delivered the opening keynote address at the 2007 Paperstock Industries Chapter (PSI) Fall Conference held recently in Arizona.

“Climate change is the issue of our times, and people want to help,” Refkin said. “Recycling should position itself as a solution to climate change.”

Increasing recovery is an important goal, Refkin added. Paper recovery rates in the United States are at 53 percent, he said, while Western Europe and Vancouver, Canada, are achieving rates of more than 70 percent. Refkin said the U.S. needs to be more aggressive in pursuing higher goals when it comes to recovering paper.

Numerous recycling opportunities exist in the magazine industry, Refkin said. Time Inc. alone publishes 130 titles and purchases more than 500,000 tons of paper per year. In 2001, a waste characterization study showed that while 95 percent of unsold magazines from newsstands were recycled, only one out of six magazines were recycled from the home, Refkin said.

To help increase consumer recycling of magazines, Time Inc. has partnered with several other organizations as part of the Remix program. The program includes a print advertising campaign as well as the use of other media to promote and encourage the public to recycling magazines.

As the sustainability movement becomes more mainstream, recyclers find themselves at the forefront with the ability to put good environmental ideas into actions that make good business sense, Refkin said. “Sustainability is an opportunity, not a threat,” he said.

PSI, a national chapter of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), held its 46^th Annual Fall Conference Nov. 14-16 in Scottsdale, Ariz. More information is available at www.paperstockindustries.org.