The Envelope Manufacturers Association launches “Please Recycle” campaign

The Envelope Manufacturers Association (EMA) has recently launched a major initiative to encourage the recycling of envelopes, cartons and packaging. Beginning this summer, EMA member companies will be adding “Please Recycle” logos to their envelopes, packages and cartons.

The “Please Recycle” campaign is sponsored by the Envelope Manufacturers Association (EMA) in conjunction with the Direct Marketing Association and the Magazine Publishers Association.

These organizations recently received the endorsement by the Environmental Protection Agency to include these recycling messages on their products. “The paper industry has committed to an overall goal of recovering 55 percent of the total paper we produce and the Envelope Manufacturers Association joins in that goal”.

Some facts about advertising mail and paper recycling:
• The average US household gets 18.5 pieces of advertising mail per week, a figure that has held steady during the past five years. (US Postal Service, 2005 Household Diary Study)
• Consumers do read their mail. According to the US Postal Service, 85 percent of US households usually read some or all of the advertising mail they receive. (US Postal Service, 2005 Household Diary Study)
• Direct mail accounts for only 2.2 percent (in weight) of the total municipal solid waste generated in the US annually, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. That figure is likely to decline as greater strides are made in paper recovery and recycling.
• In 2006, a record 53.4 percent of the paper consumed in the US (53.5 million tons) was recovered for recycling. Paper recovery now averages nearly 360 pounds for each man, woman, and child in the US. (American Forest & Paper Association).