With a circulation of 17,000 and new issues printed every weekday of the university’s academic year, the Arizona Daily Wildcat uses a lot of paper. That translates to a lot of trees and a big impact on the environment – but we do our best to minimize our waste.

For years, we’ve printed the Daily Wildcat on recycled paper, and Arizona state law requires that every newspaper in the state is printed on paper made from at least 40 percent recycled newsprint. But once each fresh copy of the newspaper is out on the racks and in your hands, its future is out of our control.

Paper is a huge component of the tons of waste created at the UA each day. According to UA Facilities Management, paper products make up at least 61 percent of the university’s waste stream, which runs in the thousands of tons each year. Out of that waste, about 120 tons of discarded newsprint are recycled each year.

Once it’s in the bin, recycled newsprint is used for a wide variety of purposes. According to the Newspaper Association of America, about 32 percent of recycled newsprint goes right back into newly printed newspapers. Although papers can be recycled several times over, the number of usable fibers decreases each time paper is re-pulped and recycled. But that’s not a problem: The rest of the newsprint is used to make paperboard, construction paper, pencils, egg cartons, grocery bags – even home insulation.

Yet although the percentage of used newspapers that are recycled has shot up over the last 20 years – from about 35 percent in 1989 to 73 percent today – there’s still room for improvement, especially here at the UA. The sight of copies of the Wildcat, gutted of their crosswords and sudokus and strewn across lecture halls across campus is still all too common. You can help make sure those papers don’t go to waste.

Throughout today’s green issue – and in every future issue of the Wildcat, you’ll see new recycling reminders thrown in among our articles and advertisements. We hope they’ll be an unintrusive way to help you remember recycling. With bins for newsprint located all over campus, responsibly discarding the Wildcat is easier than ever.

So when you’re done with today’s copy of the Wildcat, fold it up and find the nearest recycling receptacle. Pick up a few copies from the floor of your empty lecture hall and toss them in, too. Round up the back issues lying around your dorm room, take them downstairs and throw them in that big green bin. The earth – and our printer – will thank you.