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APRIL
22, 1999 5:00 PM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Congressman Sam Farr
ROCHELLE DORNATT 202-225-2861
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| Farr
Trashes Congress' Trash; Says Congress Should Recycle Like the Rest of America |
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WASHINGTON
- April 22 - Rep. Sam Farr (D-Carmel) introduced legislation today that would
mandate the House of Representatives to recycle its trash. Currently the House
runs a nominal recycling program that is voluntary.
"We tell the rest of the country to recycle, yet we have no enforcement or leadership
to do it on Capitol Hill," said Farr. "My bipartisan bill would bring us into
line with the rest of America." According to Farr there's no reason why the House
of Representatives cannot do what every other American does daily in their own
kitchens and offices: recycle.
Though American households now routinely separate their trash for recycling, Congress'
own record on this is poor in comparison: The House earned only $959 in 1996 from
recycled paper and only a grand total of $7.51 in 1997. That jumped to $25,000
in 1998 but even that amount pales to what could have been earned had the House
recycling program been run more widely and more efficiently. Estimates predict
$150,000 per year or more could be earned in the House if the program functioned
better.
Recently, the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive published an analysis
of the environmental impacts of purchasing recycled content paper by the Executive
Branch. Right now the government only purchases 2 percent of the total copier
paper in the United States. But if 100 percent of government purchases were to
contain significant postconsumer contents, then the copier paper industry would
cut down 450,000 - 500,000 fewer trees for paper production.
A report issued April 8, 1999 by the Taxpayers for Common Sense, GrassRoots Recycling
Network, Friends of the Earth, and the Materials Efficiency Project, show a variety
of government programs that undermine recycling and reuse. "There's a bedrock
consensus for recycling in America -- more people recycle than vote," said Bill
Sheehan, coordinator of the Athens-GA based GrassRoots Recycling Network. "Congress
should be held to the same standards as everyone else."
Chief among non-green government activities are subsidies to industries such as
the timber industry that encourage the production of virgin paper and other materials
rather than investing in recycle products. Over $811 million per year goes into
timber subsidies designed to support the paper and related industries.
"The resources we could save and the money we could earn if we recycled would
have a rippling effect in the wider economy," said Farr. "Congress ought to set
an example."
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