Municipalities and universities are using more and more recycled paper
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Paper Atlas 2021: New record level of Blue Angel paper saves 500 million liters of water and 100 million kilowatt hours of energy
Parliamentary State Secretary Florian Pronold presented the winners of the Paper Atlas 2021 at the Federal Environment Ministry in Berlin. In the three competitions for the title of most recycling paper friendly city, district and university, the winners were Leverkusen, the district of Ebersberg and the the University of Bremen. "Rising stars of the year" are Oberhausen, the Unstrut-Hainich district and the University of Passau. The city of Solingen and the University of Osnabrück received special awards for many years of exemplary commitment. With 220 participants, the Initiative Pro Recyclingpapier (IPR) and its partners set a new record and set new records in the use of Blue Angel paper.
The paper atlas shows paper consumption and the proportion of paper with the Blue Angel in German cities, districts and universities. The 103 large and medium-sized set a new record with over 92 percent recycled paper.
In the competition for the first time, 67 districts took part, with an average of 84 percent use Blue Angel paper. The 50 universities increased their recycled paper quota to 78 percent. Together, the participants cause by the use of Blue Angel recycled paper saving more than 500 million million liters of water and 100 million kilowatt hours of energy.
"The extraordinary commitment of the participants makes it clear how relevant paper remains in an increasingly digital world. The Paper Atlas motivates everywhere, municipalities and universities to use paper in a conscious manner, to pay attention to the Blue Angel and thus promotes sustainable procurement," says Ulrich Feuersinger, spokesman for the IPR.
The Paper Atlas was launched by the IPR in 2008 with the aim of using positive competition to exploit the ecological savings potential of recycled paper in cities.
Since 2016, universities and, since 2018, districts have been able to participate in their own competitions. The partners are the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, the German Federal Environment Agency, the German Association of Cities, the German Association of Towns and Municipalities,
the German Association of Counties, and the German Association of Universities.
