Ohio State adopts new recycled paper policy

COLUMBUS – The Ohio State University just became greener thanks to a new policy that increases the use of recycled content paper on campus. University officials say that the new policy ensures that copy paper used on campus contains at least 30 percent recycled materials.

"The need to develop a new recycled paper policy has been a priority since I arrived last fall as we looked for ways to strengthen our already strong foundation of green initiatives on campus," said Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee. "By adopting this policy, we hope Ohio State can become a benchmark for other universities to follow and give us something positive to build upon as we continue to research ways to become more environmentally responsible."

Gee said the new policy, which was developed by a working group of university faculty, staff and students, also helps achieve his goal of simplifying university systems. By streamlining the purchasing process, the university expects to gain some efficiencies and potentially save the university money in paper purchasing. This new initiative will help the university protect more than 8,000 trees, save enough energy to power 62 homes and save precious water resources and landfill space.

Starting in July, all university work units will be required to centrally purchase their office paper through Stores, an on-campus supplier of work materials. Previously, the university encouraged work units to purchase recycled paper, but lacked a formal requirement.

Ohio State offers a wide variety of sustainability initiatives to promote environmental stewardship. Those include a bus fleet that runs on biodiesel fuel, car sharing programs, mercury thermometer exchanges, energy saving lights, environmentally friendly alternatives to common office supplies, toner recycling, idling guidelines for university vehicles, recycling programs for residence halls and football games, green construction standards and energy metering and savings programs.