But the corporate examples detailed below illustrate how, contrary to myth, companies can gain a competitive leg up by investing in recycled product lines.The most common reason purchasing managers give for not buying recycled products is that they’re too expensive. In more than 1,000 northeastern U.S. communities with office-paper collection programs, Marcal accepts wastepaper for use in its manufacturing process. The Society for the Plastics Industry has assigned HDPE Code #1. For example, by the end of 1993, the Hammermill Paper division of International Paper will be producing its line of 100In addition to paper, there are a number of other products that have become less costly than their virgin counterparts. However, most companies that are committed to the principles of recycling and waste reduction haven’t paid higher prices just to support the public interest. They’ve entered the market so hastily that the recycling symbol manufacturers put on products (the “chasing arrows”) is now used indiscriminately. However, while they believe in being good corporate citizens, they also see the possibilities for gaining market share as well as a loyal customer base.Managers of New Jersey-based Marcal Paper Mills, for instance, believe that they have developed a loyal following of customers because of a marketing strategy that focuses on community recycling programs rather than private-sector processing facilities. According to the American Forest and Paper Association (a recent merger of the American Paper Institute, the National Forest Products Association, and the American Forest Council), over 100 U.S. paper mills are scheduled in the next three to five years to be retrofitted or rebuilt in order to handle the increasing demand for recycled-content products.Copyright © 2020 Harvard Business School Publishing. Consider plastic lumber. But when it comes to consumer and business demand for the products made from these materials, the economics of recycling falls apart. Although it’s exceedingly difficult to calculate the relative levels of environmental and energy impact, it is conceivable that in the near future, U.S. companies and government agencies alike will list their investment in these products in an official green “report card.” This report card (somewhat akin to the social balance sheets many German companies produce voluntarily) will detail the energy a company has saved and the pollution it has reduced through buying recycled products and developing new manufacturing technologies.Even when it comes to policing industry claims for recycled content, business has the most to gain by helping to coordinate, rather than hindering, the efforts of the EPA, environmental groups, the Federal Trade Commission, and private companies. Overcoming these barriers takes time. Rather than simply fighting government and community groups, corporations can now form strategic alliances with public organizations and other business interests.While public policymakers are still trying to assess what’s wrong with recycling programs, large corporations and small entrepreneurs alike are in the best position to take the lead. Under this program, Conservatree helps schools that have funding problems by donating paper supplies worth 1But coordinating business-government programs to this extent is no easy task, whether a participating company is driven by public or private interest. For decades, the steel and aluminum industries have successfully developed their respective technologies to incorporate large quantities of postconsumer recycled materials. When compared with their virgin counterparts, recycled products provide a number of intangible but increasingly crucial business benefits. Tiles made from recycled glass sit on … In order to close this loop effectively—and profitably—Rubbermaid works with both the processor and Giant Foods to ensure that the plastics they recover for reuse are of the highest quality and virtually free from contamination.

Ted Reed, president of The Data Group, decided that his marketing research company should buy Hammermill’s Unity DP when he heard that it jammed less in copiers. The centers store them until they become unsightly mountains of “junk” and public health problems.