Paper Ban 2005

On January 1, 2005, the Seattle City Council’s ordinance requiring mandatory recycling of paper and cardboard at all businesses took effect.

The paper ban was prompted by the declining rate of recycling in the city. In 1989, Seattle adopted a recycling goal of 60%. Since a recycling rate peak of 44% in 1995, there has been a continual decline. The recycling rate was only 38% in 2001.

The City Council hopes mandatory recycling will reverse this declining trend.

What does this mean for the UW?

A large portion of our waste stream at the UW is paper – a waste characterization study conducted in 2004 showed that 39% of the landfill waste produced by the UW is paper that could have easily been recycled.

In order to meet the city’s requirement, we must all work together. All clean paper can be recycled, including newspapers, magazines, envelopes, notebook paper, and sticky notes.

We need your help getting paper out of the trash.

Stop. Think. Recycle.

On January 3, 2005, the UW was invaded by small yellow squishy brains* spreading the recycling message. There was such high demand for them that we'll be handing them out at upcoming special events in 2005 and 2006. So check back often to find out where you can pick yours up. Keep them. Display them prominently. Do what you can to spread the word.

*The yellow toy brains are non-toxic and biodegradable.