Recto Verso eco-campaign turns the page on waste paper

By Julie Lepsetz

Although Kermit the Frog may have earned a living saying otherwise, Chantal Beaudoin wants to spread the word that it can be easy being green. Green as in environmentally friendly, that is.

Beaudoin, an international business student, is Concordia’s co-ordinator of the Recto Verso Paper Campaign (RVPC), a student-directed initiative striving to reduce paper consumption, increase recycling and encourage sustainable paper purchasing policies at universities throughout Quebec.

The RVPC is led by a consortium of students from Concordia, HEC Montréal, McGill University, Ottawa University, Université de Sherbrooke, Université de Montréal and University du Québec à Montréal.

One of the RVPC’s main goals is persuading universities to purchase a different type of paper. “Right now, we’re buying what I like to call 100-per-cent tree,” Beaudoin said.

Instead, she would rather the universities spend their money on recycled paper, which incorporates typically wasted portions of trees, such as branches, as well as post-consumer paper, which boasts a high content of previously-used paper.

Switching from regular paper to a greener alternative is not only better for the environment, it also would positively affect each university’s bottom line. In 2003, it was actually cheaper to purchase recycled paper than non-recycled — 30 cents less per thousand sheets, in fact.

While that might sound like chump change to some, consider this: Concordia’s estimated paper consumption for the 2002-2003 academic year alone was a whopping 92 million sheets, an average of three pieces of paper per second, according to the Concordia Campus Sustainability Assessment. Had Concordia purchased recycled paper at the cheaper price, it would have saved nearly $30,000. In order to understand the implications of such bloated consumption, 92 million sheets of paper is the equivalent of 10 football fields of trees cut down in a single year.

Beaudoin speaks passionately when describing the RVPC’s goals. Success is feasible, she believes, but student and faculty assistance is crucial.

She suggests that professors could increase their use of recto verso (double-sided) printing on class notes, outlines and exams, and request — or even require — that students print their assignments, papers and projects in similar fashion.

As for students, Beaudoin praises their efforts to date, but recommends they go the extra mile by depositing materials in their correct, and separate, containers. “If someone were to throw a can of juice into a recycling bin filled with paper, the whole bin would be lost,” she said.

Currently, the RVPC has 10 recycling bins strategically placed around campus. The eye-catching labels ask students to part with paper that is non-confidential, staple-free and white side up. The paper is then cut, ruled, perforated and bound into notebooks, and subsequently distributed to students for an additional use.

Since the RVPC’s inception in the winter of 2003, the Concordia division has made an impressive amount of progress. “We have support from the Environmental Health & Safety Office, and over 700 student signatures on a petition supporting the purchase of recycled paper,” Beaudoin said. There is, however, more to be done.

Meanwhile, should she meet anyone believing it too difficult to print recto verso or use recycled paper, Beaudoin has a ready response. “I would show [the person] an aerial view of what has become of our ‘North American lungs,’ the boreal forest,” she said, noting the area’s extreme depletion.

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. And that conserves paper.

For more information, or to volunteer with the Recto Verso Paper Campaign, please contact Chantal Beaudoin at marie_chantalb@hotmail.com.