separaimg
                              at the waste  source
                              for  recycling
6433-48
6434-49
6435-50
6436-51
6437-51
6438-51
6439-51
6440-51
          70
          70
          70
          70
          70
          70
          70:
          70
          70
 6600-53
 6601-55
 6602-53
I 6603-54
 6604-53
 6605-53
 6606-54
 6607-54
 6608-54
 6609-55
 6610-53
1.6611-5-^
 6612-5 .p
 6613-Eg
 6614-E-H
          70:
          70:
          70:
          70:
          70;
          70*

-------
                    separating
      paper
                   at the waste source
                   for recycling
    Recyclable materials can  be recovered from
the solid waste stream through a variety of tech-
niques. Seme  involve new and complex technol-
ogy, but others depend  mainly on the persona!
separating out of  recyclable materials by house-
holders  and other waste generators. The latter
methods  are by far the predominate  ones for
recovery of paper.
    This setting aside of recyclable waste materials
at their point  of generation by the generator has
been termed "source separation." Separation is
followed by the transporting of the materials to a
secondary  materials dealer or directly to a manu-
facturer by the generator himself, by city collec-
tion vehicles, by private haulers and scrap dealers,
or by voluntary recycling organizations.
    Newspapers from homes, corrugated contain-
ers from commercial and industrial establishments,
and mixed and high-grade papers from offices are
the grades of paper which are  readily recoverable
through source separation; they are also the grades
of used  paper which  are most desirable for
recycling.  These categories of paper  constitute
approximately  50  percent of the paper which is
discarded from residential,  commercial, and in-
dustrial establishments.
    The various techniques  for source separation
of paper,  as well  as the related environmental,

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energy, and conservation issues, are summarized in
this report.
SOURCE SEPARATION OF NEWSPRINT
Background
    Historically,  newsprint has flowed back  into
the manufacturing  cycle  primarily through  two
channels.  One  is collection  of newspaper  from
homes through paper  drives conducted  by civic
and religious organizations and through the efforts
of private waste haulers. The second is diversion of
"over-issue news"-newspapers  printed but never
sold-into recycling channels. Also, in recent years
many householders  have brought their newspapers
to neighborhood recycling centers.
    While  these  channels  are still  active  and
important, in the last 2 to  3 years a new method
of source  separation has appeared that holds great
promise for providing additional quantities of  old
newspapers  for recycling,  and doing  so on a
continuous basis. The technique,  separate news-
paper collection, is growing rapidly insignificance.

Separate Newspaper Collection
    Separate newspaper collection is the curbside
collection of used newspapers on a regular basis by
municipal or private waste  collectors.  Newspapers
are kept separate from other waste in the house-
hold,  bundled  and  tied,  placed at the curb,  and
collected regularly just like other solid  wastes.
    Two methods are presently  used to collect  the
newspaper: (1)  trucks  are dispatched which pick
up  only  newspaper.  These  are  usually regular
compaction  trucks, but  open-bodied trucks can
also be  used; (2)  racks to hold  the newspaper  are
installed beneath the bodies of standard collection
trucks.  The newspaper and  other  refuse is  col-
lected simultaneously. This is the so-called "piggy-
back" method of separate collection. In 1970 only
three separate collection  programs were in opera-

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 tion in the entire United States; by April 1974, the
 U.S. Environmental Protection  Agency had identi-
 fied 125  communities with separate newspaper
 collection programs.

 Requirements for Separate Newspaper Collection
     Planning. Implementation of a successful sepa-
 rate newspaper collection  system requires  rela-
 tively  little expenditure  of capital,  but  proper
 planning,  coordination,  and  administration  are
 essential. The plans should  include the following
 key elements: (1)  markets must  be available within
 a reasonable distance; they should be  investigated
 in  advance and assured by contract; (2) whether
 the program  is mandatory  or  voluntary, citizen
 cooperation must be thoroughly solicited by mak-
 ing sure  that  citizens know  of the program's
 existence  and  purpose and the  exact nature of
 their  requested  participation;  this requires  an
 active publicity campaign usually involving both
 media {TV, radio, newspapers) and citizen groups
 (scouts, ecology  groups,  religious  and  service
 organizations);  (3)  the changes  in the  existing
 collection  procedures which  will be required must
 be  property planned  and carried out,  including
 provisions  for handling the  newspaper after it is
 collected;  (4)  a  special ordinance  may have to be
 drafted  to prevent  any party  other than  the
 municipal  collection  crew (or contracted  private
 hauler)  from picking up the old newspapers.
     Capital and Labor. Theoretically both capital
 outlays and increased labor are necessitated by the
 division of the waste stream into two components.
 For a  piggyback  system, metal  racks  must  be
 purchased  at a  cost  of about $80 to  $250  per
vehicle,  and  more  time-on  the  order  of  14
seconds per stop-will  be  required  in  collection.
 (In  some places the rack fills up before the route is
completed.  Limited  case study  data  show that
approximately 10  minutes of unloading and off-
route time  is required each time the rack becomes

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full.  The newspaper  Is stored temporarily in bulk
containers that have  been placed along or near the
collection route.)
     Equipment  requirements for a separate truck
system will vary widely depending on frequency of
both regular and newspaper collection, number of
households participating, type of truck used, and
other factors. It is therefore almost impossible to
generalize  about  truck  requirements.  In  case
studies the ratio of regular to newspaper collection
trucks has  ranged  from  6:1  for once-per-week
newspaper  collection  to  29:1 for once-per-month
collection.1  However, both higher and lower ratios
have been observed elsewhere.
     In the  cities now using separate collection,
few  additional  trucks have been purchased and
very few new employees hired, though the length
of time spent on the route has generally increased.
In other  words, most  cities  practicing separate
collection  have found  underutilized  equipment
and  labor which could be utilized in the collection
of  newspapers, thus  in  essence increasing  the
productivity  of existing labor and equipment. This
might not be possible in  every instance, of course;
it  depends   on the  amount  of  "slack"  in  a
collection system and the specific labor situation.

Costs and Savings
     The equipment and  labor costs of separate
collection must be  balanced against the proceeds
from the sale of the newspaper and the savings in
disposal costs.
     Generalizations  about  costs  or savings  are
difficult  because of the variance from city to city
in the market price for  old newspapers, disposal
cost, type  of  collection used before  and after
initiation of separate collection, and other factors.
Each community  must  estimate the economics
under the conditions which  exist  in that com-
munity.
     By the  end of 1973  mills in many parts of the
country  were paying $5Q-$60 per ton for baled
4

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 newspaper.2 Discussions  with  municipal  officials
 indicate that most  municipalities were receiving
 $20-$40 per ton from wastepaper dealers for loose
 newspaper.  At these prices many communities will
 find  separate  collection  profitable  or  at  least  a
 break-even  proposition.  Case  studies have  been
 done  of the effect  of  separate collection (using
 separate trucks)  and sale of  newspaper on  the
 collection costs in  10 communities.1 Assuming  a
 $25-per-ton market  price,  the  effect would range
 from  a  decrease of  13 percent to an increase of 14
 percent in collection costs; on the average, there
 would  be a decrease of  just over 1 percent. In
 March  1974, when the average price received by
 the 10  communities was $32 per ton, there was an
 average decrease  in  collection  system costs  of  5
 percent. Three  piggyback systems  studied were
 found to  result in similar  overall cost reductions.
 {These  are  net savings after  accounting  for all
 additional   costs   actually  experienced and  all
 revenues and disposal savings.)  Though  continued
 market  prices at these levels cannot be guaranteed,
 many communities have been able to secure 1- to
 5-year  contracts  with  guaranteed   floor  prices
which they found acceptable.
    The  participation  rate-the  percentage of
 households setting out their newspapers separated
as requested-has an important bearing on system
economics.  It is of prime importance that as many
householders cooperate as possible.  Participation
 rates  rise  over time with  a  good publicity cam-
paign.   There  are  indications  that  participation
 rates  in an  ongoing program will rise  above 50
percent on a purely  voluntary  participation basis.
This is probably in part due to the desire of many
citizens to contribute to  environmental improve-
ment, combined with the fact that demands placed
on the resident are minimal. An EPA study shows
that only about  2.3 minutes  per week of the
householder's time is needed  for extra handling of
the newspapers.1

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 Opportunity for Increased Recovery
     Supply.  In  1973,  according  to  preliminary
 estimates, there were  approximately  2.5 million
 tons of newspapers recycled in the United States3
 and  an additional 100 to 150 thousand tons of old
 newspapers  exported.4  In  relation  to domestic
 consumption of  newsprint this constitutes about a
 25 percent recycling rate. Newspapers account for
 about 20 percent,  by weight, of all paper discards
 in the nation.5
     About  4.6  million  tons  of newspaper were
 discarded  by  households in  the  nation's urban
 areas in  1973  and  not recovered;  this amount
 represents  the  primary  potential  for additional
 newspaper   recovery.5   If at  least half  of  this
 quantity had been recovered,  then  newspaper
 recovery in 1973 would have been doubled.
     Demand. Obviously, if  these newspapers are
 to be recycled, there must be a demand for them
 in the paper industry. In 1973, for the first time in
 years, combined  domestic and foreign demand for
 old newspapers appeared to  exceed the supply of
 recovered paper.
    The  latest capacity  survey  of the American
 Paper institute  indicates plans  for  a 7 percent
 increase in  domestic old newspaper consumption
from  the beginning of 1974  through  1975-a
steady  but  not  dramatic growth.3  Foreign   de-
mand,  which  surged  in  1973, is expected to
 continue to  increase. There  is also  strong interest
by several companies in adding to the present  U.S.
capacity for manufacture of newsprint solely from
 old  newspapers. The  question  of  supply avail-
ability  seems to  be the major deterrent to these
companies at present.
    How these factors  will ultimately  balance out
is  difficult to predict.  Based only on the demand
 increases presently  projected by  the American
Paper Institute,  it  would seem that  the  prices
received  by  municipalities  for old   newspaper
will  probably retreat somewhat  from  the  record-
6

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 high 1973 levels. However, there are no indications
 of  a  return to the demand and price levels of 2
 years ago, which were generally considered to be
 depressed. Furthermore,  buyers  are increasingly
 willing to guarantee floor prices to ensure supply,
    While nationally the signs are  positive, the
 individual community must consider markets or a
 local  basis,  and markets  may not be available if
 there are no consuming mills in  places to which
 the freight costs would be within acceptable limits
 Thus, an  exploration of local markets is still tha
 first  requirement  for  communities considering
 separate newspaper collection. Some communities
 have found  that consuming mills  In their area are
 interested in other paper wastes from households
 besides  old newspaper and have thus  collected and
 sold mixed household paper as well as newspaper.
SOURCE SEPARATION
OF CORRUGATED PAPER

Background
    In  contrast  to  newspapers,  which  are  dis-
carded primarily from residences,  used corrugated
containers are discarded  primarily from commer-
ciai arid  industrial  sources.  Recovery from these
sources has been practiced for many years and has
been carried  out  primarily  by wastepaper dealers
rather  than  through  volunteer  channels.  Some
supermarkets and other commercial and industrial
generators  have  separated and  baled their  corru-
gated   containers,  but waste  haulers  have also
obtained large quantities  in the  past through hand
separation of corrugated paper from other  waste at
disposal sites  or processing stations.
    Rapidly  increasing   labor  costs have  made
hand-sorting  by  haulers  less feasible, but separa-
tion by the generator has increased in importance.
Now most of  the  country's major  supermarket
chains  separate corrugated paper from other waste

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for recycling, as do many auto assembly plants and
other commercial  and  industrial establishments.
The  continuance  and growth  of this practice is
vital if  the future needs for old corrugated paper
are to be met.

Methods of Separation and Collection
     There  are  two  major  methods  of source
separation of corrugated paper. The first is baling
by the generator. There  are  a  number of  tech-
niques for  baling corrugated  paper; they differ in
the size of  bales produced, method of storage, and
method of collection. Large bales are suitable for
direct  consumption by  a  paper  mill; small bales,
generally under 500  to  700 pounds, have to be
rebaled by a hauler or wastepaper dealer prior to
mill  consumption.
     In  the second  method  of source  separation
loose  corrugated  paper  is  placed  in  stationary
compactors-large metal containers  attached to a
stationary hydraulic  ram. The  hauler  or waste-
paper  dealer must  at  a  minimum  empty  the
container and bale the corrugated  paper.  If  the
generator has mixed  other waste with the corru-
gated paper,  then hand-sorting must also be done.
In the latter case the generator  has in  fact  done
little or no source separation.
     The method which  is  most attractive to a
particular generator  depends on the quantity of
paper generated,  the  space  available  to the gen-
erator for handling the paper, and other factors. In
a  recent study of supermarket waste management
practices sponsored  by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture,  baling was found  to  be  the  most
attractive method among supermarkets  for han-
dling corrugated  paper.6  Many  large warehouses
and  large industrial  generators  have also  found
baling  to be the  most attractive approach. How-
ever, some other generators, such as large depart-
ment stores, have tended to  lean toward use of

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stationary  compactors,  leaving  the  baling  and
perhaps the separation to the hauler.
    Baling results in a higher price for the paper
but generally  requires  more personnel time and  a
larger investment, while use of separate containers
requires  little  change in  normal waste discard
procedures  but  results  in  less revenue for  the
paper.

Costs and Savings
    Though systems involving  baling vary, many
generators received enough  revenue  from baled
corrugated paper in  1973 to pay the full capital
cost of a baler within a year. The demand for old
corrugated paper has  been so great over the  past
year that prices at the mill rose to  over $60 per
ton in most parts of  the country.2  Such prices
turn  a  generator's waste into  a valuable  com-
modity.  As one  store manager was  reported to
have said, "Sometimes I think there is more profit
potential  in the  box  than in   its  contents." A
generator  should  not assume that such prices will
always hold, however.
    In addition, in the past year many generators
were  offered  balers free  of financing and dollar
outlay, "with payment  for the baler  taken  in  the
form  of the corrugated paper generated. Guaran-
teed  minimum  floor  prices  and  1- to  5-year
purchase contracts were frequently offered as well.
Under such conditions baling of corrugated paper
can be a waste management technique of consid-
erable appeal to the commercial  generator.
    Some generators tend to think of separation
of corrugated  paper for recycling more as a waste
management alternative to on-site incineration or
regular waste hauling than as a profit-or-loss issue.
The  study  of supermarket waste  management
found that baling was the lowest cost method of
waste management for  corrugated   paper, even
though  prices  for the  paper at  that time (1972)

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were at only about half the levels prevailing at the
end of 1973.

Opportunities for Increasing Recovery
    Supply. Preliminary estimates for 1973  show
recovery of old  corrugated paper totaled roughly
5.2 million tons.3  Approximately 35 percent of
this  came  from  industrial converting  operations
where corrugated boxes are fabricated; the remain-
der consisted of consumer discards.7- p-55-56 The
latter amount  represents about 23 percent of the
corrugated  paper that is used. Corrugated contain-
ers constitute  about 26 percent, by weight,  of all
paper discards.5
    Waste  corrugated  paper  not recovered  from
commercial and  industrial establishments in the
nation's urban areas represents the primary poten-
tial  for  additional  recovery.  Assuming  that 80
percent of commercial and industrial  activity  is
concentrated  in  Standard Metropolitan Statistical
Areas, unrecovered corrugated paper  in these areas
would  have   amounted  to  approximately 7.5
million  tons  in  1973.5  Recovery of half of this
material,  or   3.75 million  tons,  would  double
the  amount of  used corrugated paper currently
recovered.
     Demand.  Demand  for old  corrugated  paper
rose significantly in 1973 as production of corru-
gating medium (the fluting material  in  corrugated
boxes)  from  old corrugated  increased  by   16.6
percent  over  the  1972  level;  this was almost
double the percentage increase in total corrugating
medium  production.8  The most recent  capacity
survey of the American Paper Institute shows that
the  largest capacity gain  among all paper and
board  industry  segments will  occur in  recycled
paperboard and  primarily in grades made from old
corrugated  containers.  Consumption  of old corru-
gated  paper   in  the  1972  to  1975 period  is
projected to  grow by  34 percent.3 Thus,  there
10

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should be strong demand for this material over at
least  the  next  2  years.  Relatively high  prices
should continue, although, as new supply sources
are developed, the record-high prices which existed
in 1973 may moderate.

SOURCE SEPARATION
OF OFFICE WASTEPAPER

Background
    "Office wastepaper" here  includes  not only
printing and writing papers but also the discards of
out-of-date  forms and  reports  and the growing
quantities  of  computer tab cards and  printout
paper. Presently there  is  relatively little  actual
source separation of this waste with the exception
of  computer  tab  cards, for which  the  reported
prices  are  over  $200  per ton.  Most  of  the
separation  occurs at  processing plants  of  waste-
paper dealers  or waste  haulers. Depending on the
composition of the waste and degree of separation
practiced,  it  is  sold  either as  "mixed,"  i.e.,
low grade,  or as "high grades" of wastepaper. The
extent to  which  such  hand separation  by  the
dealer is  feasible depends primarily on the market
price of these wastepaper grades.

Methods  of Source Separation
    Source  separation  of  office paper consists
primarily  of  keeping  certain   discarded papers
separate from  other trash such as plastic beverage
cups,  soft drink cans, and the  like.  (In addition,
tab cards would generally be kept separate from
other  paper waste  in the computer center.) The
basic  technique  for  doing  this is  to provide
separate containers for discards of paper and  other
trash.  There has been little  experience with this
technique so  far; there are only  a  handful  of
offices in the country  where such separation is
known to be practiced.
                                             11

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    However, there appears to be growing interest
in  the technique, and at least one company who
markets business forms  has developed a program
for separating and collecting office papers.9 Their
technique  {and  a  similar  one  reported  to  be
successful 10) involves small  desk-top containers
for white ledger and bond  discarded during the
day; these are emptied into larger containers at the
end of the day. Such separation, if it is  practical,
would probably allow office waste recovery under
less favorable market conditions than would costly
hand sorting at a processing plant.
    Markets for  high grades such as tab  cards and
clean ledger or bond were very strong in  1973 and
supplies of such waste were short. The demand for
"high grades and pulp substitutes," as evidenced in
industry  plans  reported to the American Paper
Institute, shows  only about a 5-percent increase in
the  2-year period  from the  beginning of  1974
through  1975.3 However, many industry observers
believe that more such paper could and  would be
used if it were obtainable.
BENEFITS OF PAPER RECYCLING

    Paper recycling results in three major benefits
which argue for  its continuance and  expansion-
environmental benefits, reduced solid waste vol-
umes, and conservation of resources.
    Environmental benefits accrue  from the gener-
ally lower levels of emissions into the environment
that  stem  from  the  manufacturing  of products
from  recycled paper rather than virgin woodpulp.
A recent study sponsored by  EPA examined the
total  systems, from forest or  waste collection to
final  product,  for  four  major  paper  industry
products. Preliminary data on  uncontrolled emis-
sions shows that  there are generally lower air and
solids emissions  and, in some  cases,  lower water
 12

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emissions  with use of secondary as opposed to
virgin fiber.11
    The  volume  of  solid waste which  must be
disposed  of by  municipalities  is reduced  when
paper is recycled. Paper constitutes 31 percent of
residential and commercial waste by weight and
well  over half  by volume.5 Therefore, recovery of
even  small  percentages  of  paper can  to  some
degree extend  the life of landfills, reduce  the loads
that  must be  handled by incinerators, and avert
the  environmental  damages  which often  result
from improper disposal.
    Trees are  a renewable resource, but there is
currently  debate over whether  our forests can
meet  the  needs of  our nation  for  lumber and
lumber  products  in  the  future,  whether cutting
increasing quantities  of  timber  from  national
forests is justified, whether using increasing  quan-
tities  of land, some presently used  as wildlife
refuges,  for commercial timber operations is desir-
able,  and  whether  forestry  practices  such as
clearcutting  damage  the  land. All of these ques-
tions  have  arisen  because  of  pressure  on the
nations' forests  to supply growing amounts of
paper and wood products. Paper recycling can help
relieve the pressure on forests, help relieve doubts
about adequacy of  future  timber supplies, and
reduce the need to  expand timber  harvesting in
ways which may be detrimental to wildlife or the
land.
 ENERGY RECOVERY
 VERSUS PAPER RECOVERY

     Generation  of energy through combustion of
 municipal solid waste is also an important resource
 conservation and  waste  management technique.
 However, source separation for removal of paper
 from waste  should be practiced even when energy
                                           13

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recovery is employed because (1) it will increase
the environmental and conservation benefits which
can  be  achieved and (2) the  market value of
wastepaper is several times higher as a fiber than as
a fuel.
    Removal of recoverable paper through source
separation does not significantly compromise the
value of  municipal waste as an energy source. The
major  reasons  are: (1)  paper  constitutes  only
about 39 percent, by weight, of the combustible
fraction  of  municipal waste  and (2) even with
optimum source separation systems for newspaper,
corrugated paper, and office papers, only 25 to 35
percent of the paper in the waste stream could be
recovered, and  this would constitute only 10-14
percent of the  combustible  fraction. Even with a
35  percent recovery  rate, the  reduction  in  haat
content  per ton of waste input into  an energy
recovery plant  has  been  calculated by EPA to be
no greater than  10 percent.5
    tt obviously makes sense to  recover the paper
as a fiber if possible. In  later cycles through the
production system  this wastepaper may well ap-
pear  in  packaging  and  other  types  of  paper
products not readily recoverable and could then be
converted into  energy. Recycling of paper back
into new paper thus  increases the useful time of
the fiber.
CONCLUSIONS

    Source separation is presently the most feasi-
ble means of  removing  paper  from  the  waste
stream for recycling. Newspaper, corrugated con-
tainers,  and certain types of papers from offices
typically accumulate in  relatively high  concentra-
tion  and  homogeneous  form  at the  points of
generation. Their separation  from other waste will
usually  be of  only  slight inconvenience to the
14

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 generator  and may  result in savings  to  them  in
 waste disposal costs.
     The  most  significant new  opportunities for
 source  separation  lie in  municipal  programs for
 source  separation  and separate collection of old
 newspapers from residences, in  separation of cor-
 rugated  containers by commercial and industrial
 establishments,  and  in  separation of  high-grade
 paper in  offices.  According to  EPA's best esti-
 mates,  it would  be practically  feasible to  recover
 enough additional newspaper and corrugated paper
 to double the amount currently being recovered.
 Although communities must consider markets on a
 ocal basis, nationally the demand for these materi-
 als is growing.
     For manufacture  of many paper products, use
 of recycled paper rather than virgin fiber results in
 reduced  emissions into  the  environment. Other
 benefits  include  the  reduction  in the volume of
 solid waste that municipalities must dispose of and
 the conservation of forest resources.
     Newspapers, corrugated containers, and office
 papers should be recycled as a fiber if possible
 rather than converted to energy. There will still be
ample heat-producing potential  in the remaining
waste to allow its recovery as energy.
                REFERENCES

1. SCS Engineers.  Cost analysis  of  source separate
   collection of solid waste. (In preparation.)
2. Paperboard Packaging, Official Board Markets, Jan.
   1974 issues.
3. American Paper  Institute. Capacity  1972-1975 with
   additional  data for 1976-1978; paper, paperboard,
   woodpulp  fiber  consumption.  New York,   1973.
   25 p.
4. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Unpublished
   estimates based  on Garden State  Paper Company
   data.
5. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Unpublished
   data.
                                             1S

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 6.  SCS  Engineers.  Solid  waste management  in retail
     food stores. (In preparation.)
 7.  U.S.  Environmental Protection Agency. Unpublished
     data  based on Franklin, W. E., Paper recycling; the
     art of the possible, American Paper Institute, 1973.
     181 p.
 8.  American   Paper   Institute.  Monthly  Statistical
     Summary, Jan. 1974.
 9.  The Shade Corporation, Alexandria, Virginia.
10.  The  Western  Electric  Company,  Sunnyvale,  Cali-
     fornia.
11.  Gordian   Associates.   Environmental   impact   of
     production from virgin and secondary paper, glass,
     and rubber. (In preparation.)
                                             jua1002


16

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U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
               1974

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