Paper Glut Ups Costs To Recycle

At a time when record numbers of people are recycling, those who want to recycle used newspapers will now have to pay a hefty fee as a result of a newspaper glut in the Boston area.

Recycling companies like North Shore Recycled Fiber Corporation (NSRFC) now charge up to $30 to recycle a ton of paper--a service that used to be free. NSRFC stopped offering free collections six months ago when the number of newspapers exceeded its processing capacity, said sales manager Robert Heffernan.

Harvard's Phillips Brooks House Association (PBHA) is not currently charged to recycle its newspapers because of established relations with its contractors. But Michael E. Wall '90, co-chair of the PBH Environmental Committee, says he expects this to end within months.

But Wall said that the new $30-per-ton charge is still less than the $100-per-ton that the University now pays for trash collection.

The newspaper glut also stems from the lack ofbusinesses and retailers stocking recycled paperproducts, Wall said. "If more institutions likeHarvard would carry the paper, there would notonly be no glut, there would be a demand for [oldnewspapers]," he said.

Neither the Harvard Cooperative Society norCentral Copy use or sell recycled paper, he added.

Daniel Fitzgerald, manager of Central CopyService, said he does not use recycled paperbecause it is 20 per cent more expensive than"virgin paper." But he added that no major paperhouse has ever offered him recycled products.

Robin Ingenthron, co-director of EarthwormIncorporated, which publishes a guide to recyclingin the Boston area, said, "Three years ago ourrecycling guide covered 15 towns and was one pagelong. Today. it covers 50 towns.