I'm Recycling as Fast as I Can

A Conversation with Corporate America
by Juliet Eastland

PAPER, PAPER EVERYWHERE.

In this digital age, it's amazing how many trees we still go through in a day. But eco-warriors, paper-pushers, and guilty liberals rejoice: America recycles! According to the American Forest & Paper Association, U.S. recovery of paper and paperboard increased in 2004 to an all-time high of 50.3 million tons. Good news, right?

Well, sort of, until you look at what America consumes: 98,664,727 tons of paper and paperboard in 2002 alone. To bring it to a more personal level, while the U.N. estimates that the minimum needed to meet basic literacy and communication needs is 66 to 88 pounds per year, the average U.S. citizen consumes approximately 660 pounds of paper annually, according to Worldwatch Institute. But hey, we live in America, land of the beautiful and the big. Wanna make something of it?