Scholastic increases use of recycled paper to 15.1%

Aug. 27 -- Scholastic Corp., the children´s publishing company, says it´s making significant progress on the use of recycled paper in its products.

The New York-based company last year said it wanted to increase the use of recycled paper to 25% by 2012, including 75% of that amount coming from post-consumer sources.

The company purchased 13,496 tons of recycled paper in 2008, or 15.1% of its total. That included 11,258 tons produced from post-consumer waste, the publisher said.

Scholastic also is making progress on its goal of using Forest Stewardship Council certified fiber. With a goal of purchasing FSC-certified paper for 30% of its needs by 2012, the company last year purchased 17,608 tons of such paper. That represents 19.7% of its total paper purchases. The FSC is a non-profit group that promotes responsible management of forests.

"In just one year, the Scholastic manufacturing team made impressive progress toward achieving our paper procurement goals, while still carefully managing our costs," said Maureen O´Connell, chief financial officer and chief administrative officer of Scholastic. "The company remains keenly focused on achieving our 2012 goals and continuing to be an industry leader for environmentally responsible practices."

Contact Waste & Recycling News senior reporter Jim Johnson at 937-964-1289 or jpjohnson@crain.com