Switch to recycled paper napkins
Why This is Green
Disposable products you use for moments and then toss are never particularly green. Take napkins. If you’re not up for switching entirely to cloth, there are still greener versions to be had. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, if every household in the U.S replaced a single package of virgin fiber napkins with 100 percent recycled ones, we could save 1 million trees. Imagine the impact if every household gave up virgin fiber napkins completely!?
The EPA also recommends using recycled paper products to help preserve old growth forests, conserve natural resources, save energy, and to reduce solid waste, air and water pollutants, and the greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. Amazing how such an easy change can have such a big impact.
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How To
When shopping for recycled paper napkins, look for napkins that are made from 100 percent recycled content with the highest amount of post-consumer content you can find.
Avoid paper products that are whitened with chlorine bleach, which can release harmful chemicals such as dioxins and furans—known carcinogens—as manufacturing process byproducts. Look for the words Totally Chlorine Free (TCF) or Process Chlorine Free (PCF) on the packaging. ?
If you don’t like the first brand you try, try and try again. Refer to the NRDC’s Environmental Ratings to see how various brands stack up.
