Recycling

University of Oregon

Policy Statement

4.000 Facilities Services, Equipment, Facilities

Title: Recycled Paper Policy

Purpose: This policy coordinates university use of recycled paper with statewide executive orders.

Policy:

As a subpolicy of the University of Oregon's Campus Environmental Policy, it is the policy of the University of Oregon to purchase and use recycled paper products in its operations in accordance with Executive Orders EO-98-07 and EO-00-07. This policy requires the purchase and use of paper products made from recycled materials when such products are of a quality to satisfy applicable specifications, are available in the desired quantity within a reasonable period of time, and are priced competitively. For the purposes of this policy, "recycled materials" include "tree-free" paper content.

Any University of Oregon request for bids or quotes for purchase of paper products, including authorized printing from outside vendors, shall include a solicitation of bids or quotes for recycled paper and papers that have not been bleached with chlorine or other hazardous materials. No specification shall require the use of paper products made exclusively of virgin materials, nor specifically exclude the use of recycled paper or tree-free products.

Unless otherwise specified, University Printing Services will provide and use chlorine-free recycled paper with 100% post-consumer content. At a minimum, all University paper products shall consist of at least 50% recycled content with at least 30% post-consumer content and be chlorine-free. Use of heavily dyed and neon papers is discouraged.

University Printing Services shall have the authority to specify the minimum recycled content standard in bid solicitations to accomplish the purpose of this policy. The default for all office equipment that uses paper, such as copiers, printers and fax machines, shall be set to reflect these specifications, and be in compliance with the State of Oregon policy guidelines. Every effort will be made to eliminate excessive or unnecessary paper use. Strategies for doing so include:

electronic mail or other paperless communication
double-sided copying and printing
half-sheets of paper for all brief, printed on-campus communications
short distribution and targeted mailing lists to reduce volume

In accordance with the guidelines stated above in this policy, the official stationery program as shown in "Graphic Style of the University of Oregon" shall be determined by the Office of University Publications and University Printing Services, with approval by the Environmental Issues Committee. The use of heavily dyed paper, or other paper which requires special handling for recycling, will be subject to additional charges.

Date: 04/08/2003
Reviewed and approval recommended by: President's Staff
Issued by Vice-President for Administration