THE RECORD - New York City Bar Association

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R E C Y C L E D P A P E R I N T H E L E G A L C O M M U N I T Y landfills have closed. 2 New York City is due to close its last landfill in the year 2001. 3 Consequently, many communities must now export their garbage. Finally, the costs of waste disposal continue to escalate due to a myriad of regulations, substantial risk of liability, and increasingly costly “tipping fees.” Yet, our creation of garbage continues to soar. Since 1960, it has nearly tripled. 4 Paradoxically, the problem also contains the solution, because within the burgeoning piles of garbage exists an untapped resource of raw material that is accessible through recycling. The proven benefits of recycling include: substantial conservation of natural resources, reduction in the costs of disposal, and a reduction in the use of landfill space. Recycling and the manufacture of recycled products also contribute more jobs and development opportunities to the economy than are supported through landfill operations. Additionally, the generation of recycled products, and in particular recycled paper, consumes far less energy and generates far less pollution than the manufacture of virgin products. 5 Not surprisingly, recycling has gained widespread public support and increasing amounts of waste are no longer indiscriminately discarded; however, efforts to recycle generally end at the curbside, or the front end of the “loop” where garbage is separated at its source. Currently, the interest in recycling collection programs far exceeds the interest in purchasing products made from recycled material, even though high quality cost competitive recycled paper is widely available. While many recycling programs are mandated and in many cases generate a glut of “raw material,” there is no requirement that the materials collected be utilized again in products. True recycling, though, does not occur until the “loop” is closed, and without markets for recycled products, the “loop” cannot be closed. Therefore, it is essential to develop sustainable markets to justify recycling collection programs, support investment in the recycling industry, stimulate new economic development opportunities, conserve resources and avoid the costs of waste disposal. 2. Claudia G. Thompson, Recycled Papers: The Essential Guide (MIT Press 1992), p. 5. 3. Report of the Freshkills Task Force, November 1996 issued jointly by the Mayor Giuliani’s Office of the City of New York and Governor Pataki’s Office of the State of New York. 4. Christopher D. Knopf, Closing the Loop: Requiring Double-Sided Copying and Non- Chlorine Bleached Recycled Paper for Federal Court Papers, Wisc.L.Rev., Vo. 1995, No. 2, p. 362; See also, BNA, Environment Reporter, vol.29, No. 7, p. 423 (Mandatory recycling programs have been found to be more effective than voluntary programs). 5. See infra, Part 3.A. T H E R E C O R D 236
E N V I R O N M E N T A L L A W In light of the tremendous impact that the legal community has on the consumption of paper, and the general failure of voluntary efforts at stimulating the purchase of recycled paper, the Committee on Environmental Law found it necessary to reexamine its earlier focus on “buy recycled” initiatives 6 and has determined that a court rule mandating the use of recycled paper is the most effective means of advancing sound solid waste management practices in the legal community. Experience dictates that a mandatory rule is necessary to stimulate the market for recycled paper because of a surprising lack of awareness of our waste disposal problem, enduring misperceptions about recycled paper, and institutional and corporate inertia. 7 Therefore, the Committee proposes that the Office of Court Administration for the courts of New York State adopt a requirement that all filings be made on paper with a minimum content of 30% post-consumer fiber as soon as practicable. 8 The Committee strongly believes that the adoption of this proposal best meets the legal community’s obligation to further current public policy goals aimed at developing sustainable markets for recycled paper. Part 1 of this report presents an overview of the growth of the generation of solid waste and the impact of paper on the waste stream. Part 2 focuses on the impact of lawyers on the generation of paper waste. Part 3 sets forth the case for supporting “buy recycled” initiatives. Part 4 discusses the failure of the demand for recycled paper products to meet the expectations of the recycled paper industry. Part 5 of the report explains the feasibility of complying with the proposal set forth in part 6. 6. In 1994, the Committee issued a report on recycled paper and proposed a voluntary participation program among law firms to purchase and use recycled paper. See, Report on the Law Office Use of Recycled Paper and Proposal for Voluntary Participation in a “Buy Recycled” Program, The Record, Journal of the Bar Association of the City of New York, Vol. 49, No. 8., p. 946. 7. See, Knopf, supra at p. 382 (“Experience demonstrates that a mandatory rule requiring the use of recycled paper is necessary to truly stimulate the widespread use of recycled paper by the legal profession.”) 8. Post-consumer is defined by the EPA as “ . . . materials generated by a business or consumer that have served their intended end uses, and have been recovered from or otherwise diverted from the solid waste stream for the purpose of recycling.” This distinction is highly significant because “post-consumer” represents a diversion of material from the waste stream as opposed to “pre-consumer” waste which includes scrap generated by paper mills and other businesses which never enters the waste stream and may be simply reused internally. M A R C H / A P R I L 1 9 9 9 ◆ V O L. 5 4, N O. 2 237
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THE RECORD OF THE ASSOCIATION OF TH
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MICHAEL A. COOPER President EDITORI
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O F N O T E tion. Prepared by the C
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Recent Committee Reports Bankruptcy
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THE RECORD - New York City Bar Association

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