March 20, 2008

PASADENA JOINS CALIFORNIA CITIES AND COUNTIES IN PLEDGE TO PURCHASE ONLY 100% RECYCLED COPY PAPER

To reduce the environmental impacts of their day-to-day operations, Pasadena and eight of California’s largest cities have joined together to form Green Cities California for the purpose of accelerating worldwide efforts toward sustainability.

Pasadena and other Green Cities California members, including Berkeley, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, Santa Barbara, Santa Monica and the county of Marin, have pledged to only purchase 100 percent post-consumer recycled copy paper.

“Cities and counties can take the lead in developing the market for recycled paper,” said Mayor Bill Bogaard. “Together we send the message that we’re committed to reducing our consumption of natural resources and energy by reusing that which has already been harvested.”

Together, GCC members annually purchase half a billion sheets of office paper at a cost exceeding $5 million. By converting to 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper, the jurisdictions will see their governments save 8.6 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, 19.6 million gallons of water, 11.5 million kilowatt hours of electricity and 67,000 trees.

“Although more paper is being recycled, less than 10 percent of office copy paper is made from recycled content,” said Alice Sterling, senior project manager for the city of Pasadena’s green initiatives. “Couple that with the fact that each year the U.S. exports nearly 20 million tons of virgin paper to other countries and you see the huge potential for a local recycled paper market.”

Green Cities California is also committed to increasing double-sided copying and using multifunction machines to store documents electronically rather than printing them. Those savings can offset the estimated additional cost for purchasing recycled paper.
For more information on Pasadena’s green initiatives call (626) 744-3726 or visit www.cityofpasadena.net/greencity.