From time to time on this blog, I will attempt to explain the lingo about recycled products. We want to do all we can to be green, and as Kermit says, “It’s hard to be green.”
Here are some recycled paper terms explained (courtesy of www.thepapermillstore.com):
Fiber Definitions
Virgin Fiber – The purest fiber there is to make a paper, obtained directly from trees. Not one recycled fiber has touched this paper.
Pre-Consumer Waste – This fiber (or paper for that matter) has never seen a consumer. It usually contains leftovers and cutoffs from a paper mill’s production process or the same from paper converting plants such as envelope manufacturers and printers. This paper waste is collected and shipped back to a paper mill for recycling prior to hitting the consumer waste stream.
Post-Consumer Waste (PCW) – This is the paper you so carefully place in the paper-recycling bin every week. It has reached the end user, and thus is qualified as post-consumer waste.
Total Recycled Fiber (TRF) – The complete amount of recycled fiber, pre- and/or post-consumer, that is used to make this paper.
Bravo Green 